


Flowers and Ice

by BlackSmile



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No One Ring, BotFA spoilers - Freeform, F/M, Female Bilbo, Female Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Frozen AU, I Blame Tumblr, Inspired by Frozen (2013), Some angst, other tags will be added later - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-14 18:50:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 53,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1277065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackSmile/pseuds/BlackSmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thorin wasn't really impressed with the idea to hire a burglar for their quest. He was even less impressed when he found out this burglar was a Hobbit. And all his hopes were lost when he found out their burglar was a woman. But still he can't help himself but to feel a bit attracted to this damned sweet Hobbit. Just why does she have to be so stubborn? And why does she wear gloves all the time anyway?!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, um... hi?  
> Welcome to this fanfic, I'm just gonna say everything I need to say before I let you read the first chapter ^^ This is my very first fanfic here and english's not my first language but luckily a friend of mine edited every chapter, if you still find mistakes, you can gladly keep them :3  
> Since I'm quiet unsure about this some feedback would be really great... But first enjoy this first chapter ^^

Hobbits loved flowers, of course they did. They were peace-loving creatures, probably the most peaceful in all middle-earth. And what could symbol peace more than wonderful, colorful flowers?

Thorin sighed as he walked past all those well treated gardens in the Shire. Flowers, flowers everywhere. He never thought that there could be so many different flowers in such a small place. Maybe it was because he was used to mountains, so he never paid any attention to flowers. He knew why, there was nothing special about them. Just plants with some color on the top, so what? You also could paint some grass. There would be no difference at all.

It was late, many windows were already dark, the Hobbit sleeping. Accordingly it was pretty silent. All the dwarf could hear was the silent swoosh of the grass and leaves in the wind, sheep and cows snorting on the open fields and dull conversations from the houses he passed. In the distance he heard drunken shouts from the inn down by the bridge. Sighing he looked back unto the dark path to his feet. He knew that he was late. But he wanted to be late, arriving far after the others. They should have some fun before their journey started. He couldn’t promise that anyone would return. The Quest was full of risk and danger, they knew it, and still they were willing to follow him into death.

Again Thorin sighed as he realized that he had arrived. The green door with the golden knob looked warm and welcoming in the dull orange light of the lantern above it. And of course there were plenty of flowers in the garden. The fence gate was open anyway, so he just went up to the door. He recognized the voices of his Fellowship inside. They were singing and laughing. The poor Hobbit, he didn’t want to know how desperate he already was with eleven strange Dwarves inside his home. He couldn’t deny himself a small smile before he knocked loudly.

Suddenly it went silent inside the house and footsteps were heard before the round door was opened and he saw a familiar face. “Gandalf.” said Thorin and stepped inside. A warm feeling of home and safety suddenly washed over him. “You said that this place was easy to find. I lost my way. Twice. I wouldn’t have found it at all if it wasn’t for the mark on the door.”

Suddenly there was another, strange voice. “Wait? Which mark?” It probably belonged to the burglar Gandalf had chosen for them, just… the voice sounded too high and soft. A few seconds later Thorin knew why. A small figure had fought its way through the Dwarves and now stood only a few feet away from Thorin. “There can’t be a mark on the door. It was painted new just a week ago!”

The black haired Dwarf hesitated. That wasn’t quite possible, was it? This was clearly a Hobbit, but… a female one?

“Yes, there is one. I put it there myself. Belladonna Baggins, may I introduce you to the leader of our company. Thorin Oakenshield.” Gandalf bend down next to them. ‘Belladonna Baggins’ was short, of course she was, she was a Hobbit. But next to the full-grown Dwarves she looked small and helpless, Gandalf couldn’t be serious.

Unlike other female Hobbits he had seen, she had a long skirt which went all the way down to the floor, hiding her feet. The long-sleeved blouse was completely buttoned up to her throat. She even wore gloves, leaving her neck and her face the only parts of her body which showed some skin. Her hair was light, almost white, not because of age, but it held some light brown strands. It was tied up into a messy ponytail. But she had some courage, the way she looked stubbornly up to him through her blue eyes as if she was demanding an explanation right now.

But Thorin just smiled slightly. “So this is the Hobbit?” He couldn’t help but to scan her from head to toe again and again. Although she looked so small and helpless, there was something… sweet on her, at least for him. Quickly he forgot the though. This was ridiculous! But he couldn’t help but to wonder why she was dressed this way. Every hobbit he had seen had worn light, colorful clothes. This one even wore gloves inside the warm house!

“So, _Miss_ Baggins, what do you know about fighting? Do you have any weapons of choice? Axe or sword?”

“What? Why weapons?”

He sighed. This could be fun. “She looks more like a grocer than a burglar.” The other dwarves chuckled and went back to the dining room, Thorin followed them, but not without throwing another look at the Hobbit.

 

The soft sound of chirping birds and an awakening small town woke her up. Yawning she stretched herself slightly but kept her eyes closed. Something was different from yesterday… Something she couldn’t quiet reach with her brain still being half asleep. Sighing she opened her eyes. The walls around her were frozen, the temperature in the room was probably below freezing temperature and small snowflakes flew around. Like every morning.

Calmly she got up and dressed herself. She was barely able to control these powers when she focused; she had no chance while being asleep.

The Hobbit made her way through her home. It was silent. It took her some minutes to realize, that the Dwarves were gone. Probably it should make her happy, these invaders were gone again and she was alone. Sighing she stopped in the living room. Alone… After so many years of isolation the evening yesterday had been a welcoming change. Company, a full house full of laughter and fun. That was, what she missed. In the past years she had missed every celebration by propose. Because she was afraid. Afraid of harming someone with this curse.

Her gaze fell on the contract which still lay by the fireplace. Two out of three places were signed. Only the ‘Burglar’ was missing. The burglar… her. She snorted and looked away. This was ridiculous…

 

She didn’t quiet knew what had happened in the last few minutes, but she suddenly found herself running down the hill with a chock-full backpack and the signed contract in her hand. Her thoughts were running wildly through her head. _You’re mad, Belladonna. Running after a bunch of Dwarves…_ She couldn’t help but to laugh. All these years she just played the good girl, pretending to be more like her father, her Baggins’ side. Shame she was more of a Took. Just like her mother. With a grin she jumped over a low fence and ran across the meadow. When she crossed a road, she almost ran over one of her neighbors. “Sorry!” she called over her shoulder, continuing to run down a small path.

The other Hobbits looked after her with great surprise. She almost never left her house, and then in such a hurry! Really unlikely for her. _Let them watch, I don’t care what they think._ _I’m going on an adventure!_

And with this thought a happy smile on her lips, she crossed the borders of Hobbiton. She had no idea, what she was running into…


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so many hits and everything *-* You guys are amazing, thank you so much!  
> And as a reward I already finished the next chapter, I hope you enjoy :3

That woman was crazy. Definitely crazy. First she fainted at the merely idea of a big adventure. Now, only a few minutes ago, she had come running after them with the signed contract. Since then she hadn’t spoken a single word, riding on her pony and avoiding physical contact with the other. And she still wore gloves. Thorin threw a quick look over his shoulder. Luckily the pony was a good one; otherwise she probably would have landed on the ground at least ten times. He already knew that this was going to be a long journey.

He looked back at the path in front of him. It was not that he had something against women. He had a sister after all and knew what she was capable of. But Dis was a Dwarf! This tiny creature was a Hobbit. Soft, a little bit chubby and definitely not dangerous at all. The dark haired Dwarf sighed. She had no place among this company, she should have stayed home. The world outside would be the death of her.

 

It was the fourth day of their journey when they came to the gates of Bree. The sun had already been at its highest, it was close to afternoon. For the first time they looked for an inn where they could sleep. Bella was glad about it. Sleeping in a ditch beside the street wasn’t comfortable at all. Plus the long days on a horse back made every single one of her limbs hurt. An actual bed was a really good change right now.

When they had found an inn which was willing to receive thirteen dwarves, a hobbit and a wizard, Bombur and Nori were sent to gather enough provisions for the next weeks. Bella threw herself on the bed and couldn’t help but to laugh a bit, when she hit the soft mattress. Four days… Had it only been four days since she ran out of her home? Right into the blue? Sighing she closed her eyes and stripped off her gloves. Immediately the air around her became colder. This was madness. She was lucky that she had been able to hide it for so long. It was only a matter of time until they found out. Until they saw what she was capable of and call her a monster, just like everyone else.

She still had the chance to turn around. The road between Bree and the Shire was safe; she would be home again in a week. But guilt quickly came to her. These Dwarves needed her. And she would miss them. It was incredible, in these four days some of the company had grown so close to her, although she always stayed in a safe distance. Especially the youngest brothers, Fili and Kili. They were so lively, just happy for no reason; she always smiled when they were near. She didn’t want to leave them. But on the other side she knew that she was a danger for all of them. She knew that she only needed to lose control for a few seconds and she could kill someone. With a heavy swallow the Hobbit crawled under the blanket and before she knew, she was asleep.

 

Loud noises and voices dragged her out of her sleep. Groaning she opened her eyes and looked around. It took her some moments to realize that this wasn’t her bedroom. This was an inn. She was in Bree. Travelling with twelve Dwarves and a wizard. And someone was at the door.

Immediately she was fully awake. The walls around here were frozen once again. So was the door. Or rather frozen up. That’s why there were making such a noise outside. They couldn’t get the door open. “Miss Baggins! Open this door immediately!” It was their leader’s thunderous voice shouting through the frozen door. She was on her feet in no seconds. “Just a moment!” _Shit, shit, shit!_ This was just great. While they had slept outside, the frozen grass around here had been easily explained with the early morning dew. She joggled at the door with all the strength she had, but it didn’t moved at all. “Lad, you alright in there?” It was Balin, he sounded a bit worried. “Y-Yeah. I guess I just mislaid the key.” She quickly said. Of course this was nonsense. She hadn’t even locked her door and the key was on the nightstand.

 _Thaw you stupid ice! Just melt!_ Desperately she searched for a way to open the door. Slight panic was growing inside her. The window was too small for her to climb out, if she couldn’t get this door open, she would be stuck inside this room.

“Then you’d better find it. We’re eating dinner downstairs.” Thorin again. Bella heard him walking down the corridor; Balin followed him a few seconds afterwards.

Sighing she leaned against the door and slipped down on the floor. Great, just great! Now she was stuck in this room because she had frozen up the door and she had no idea how to melt the ice. At home it had just disappeared over the day. But now she had to get out of this room! She couldn’t wait! The fear and panic grew and she realized that the temperature inside the room was sinking even more. Small snowflakes formed out of nowhere and danced around in the cold air. She tucked up her legs and quickly dried her tears before they could fall out of her eyes. Great, this was just great! She tried to calm herself down, because she knew, the more upset she was, the more ice would grow around her.

But it was no use. The cold around her stayed and the door remained frozen up. A desperate sob escaped her lips.

 

It was Kili who first noticed the empty chair on the table. “Hey, where’s our Hobbit?”

“Locked herself up.”, said Thorin mumbling while eating.

“What? Why?” His older brother was quicker than Kili.

“She just mislaid the keys. She’ll join us soon.” said Balin with a slight smile.

The evening continued, but there was no sign of the Hobbit. Much to Thorins dislike. No one dared to say it out loud, but their leader had looked more often after the hobbit than anyone else. This wasn’t pure interest in another species anymore. This was a soft spot.

After two hours Thorin finally rose from his seat. “I’ll look after her.” This was ridiculous; this crazy woman had looked herself up in her room and didn’t come out. Why? Had she already enough of them? Then why hadn’t she just turned around already then? He stopped in front of her door and knocked loudly. “Miss Baggins?”

There was a surprised gasp from the inside. “Yes?”

Thorin hesitated. Originally he wanted to shout at her for not coming to dinner, but he didn’t have the heart to do it. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I-I’m fine.” She sounded as if she had cried. He wanted to ask again, but he just nodded. “Fine… We’re leaving tomorrow by sunrise.” He hesitated for another few seconds, but then just walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

Bella felt fear rising when she saw Gandalf riding away. She knew, without the wizard there was a big part of the company missing. And she feared that there would be something bad happen when he was away…

When the sun sunk the company gathered around a fire while Bombur cooked their supper. Just like every evening. Bella sat down on a fallen over tree a few feet away from the fire, staring into the night. She was lucky, that had been able to break the ice from the door in Bree at some point. No one ever asked again what exactly had happened in there and she was lucky about it. Because no one would believe her.

For the first time she actually wondered if Gandalf knew of her powers or if this was pure coincidence. He couldn’t know, when they first met her powers were so little, not even her parents had recognized them. The next time they met her parents had already begun to isolate her. And the third time she already knew what she was capable of and locked herself up in her room, always wearing gloves. She sighed. He couldn’t know.

“Miss Baggins!”

She turned around to see Dori walking towards her. He held two bowls in his hands. “Here, could you bring these to Fili and Kili?”

“Sure.” She carefully took the bowls. Even if she wore gloves, she always was afraid of touching someone. Then she made her way to the brothers who watched over the ponies. In the past two weeks they had grown even more to her heart, just like everyone else. Even the gruffly Dwalin. And Thorin. She sighed and smiled a bit. Thorin, their leader, he may be harsh but the way he looked at her made her knees go weak… _Oh, shut your mouth!_

She arrived at the poorly made gate where the brothers sat and stared into the darkness. “Hey boys, here’s your supper.”

They didn’t react. “Boys..?”

“There are supposed to be fourteen ponies.” said Fili.

“But there are only twelve.” added Kili.

Confused Bella looked to the ponies and had to realize that the dwarves were right. There were only twelve ponies inside the gate. Two were missing. “But the gate is not broken, is it?” she asked.

“No.” Fili turned around to her. “Oh, supper!” “Shouldn’t you look for them then?”

They suddenly heard a noise as if a huge branch was falling to the ground.

Bella froze. “What was that?” she asked quietly, slight fear in her voice.

“Let’s look!” They both hurried into the dark forest towards the noise.

“Boys, wait!” Desperately she looked around, not knowing what to do but followed them anyway.

She caught up with them while they were ducking themselves behind some bushes and staring right ahead of them. “What are you doing-“

“Sh!” hissed Kili and simply pointed to the small clearing in front of them. Bella knelt beside them and stared through the leaves, then she saw, why the two young dwarves didn’t want to make any loud noises. A fire was burning in the middle and around sat three trolls. One of them had just dropped the two missing ponies in a gate they had built.

“What should we do now?” Bella whispered.

Fili and Kili exchanged a quick look and –she wore, these brothers communicated by thoughts- looked at her. “Looks like quiet a job for a Burglar, doesn’t it?” They grinned.

“Wha- No! No, don’t even think about it!” She wasn’t going to sneak past three tolls just to rescue two ponies!

Kili put a hand on her back and she quickly flinched away. “Sure, these guys are dump as rocks.”

“We’re gonna get the others. Just in case.” Fili winked at her, then they disappeared into the dark, with their bowls. Bella stood alone and she sighed quietly. Great…

As quiet as she could, she sneaked around the clearance to the ponies. While she tried to untie the rope, she always checked that the trolls didn’t notice her. In case of need she could just run away. Surely she was faster than these giants. The ropes were too thick; she couldn’t move them, no matter how hard she tried. Frustrated she kicked against them and immediately a thin layer of frost covered them. Of course! Frozen things shattered quickly.

Quickly Bella stripped of her gloves and laid her hands on the rope once again and concentrated. She had never tried to freeze anything on purpose, but quickly she could feel the ropes under her bare fingers getting colder and harder. But shortly before she was finished, a large hand on her leg snatched her away from the gate. “Hey, what’s this?” “A thief!” “Can we eat it?”

Bella cursed while fear rose in her once again. The trolls had discovered her and one was lifting her high into the air. Oh great, it was not like that she wore a skirt or anything! She tried to free herself, but the grip around her leg was too hard and hanging upside down in the air didn’t make it any better.

One of the trolls sniffed at her. “Doesn’t smell too bad, better than the ponies.”

“But it’s so tiny!”

“We still have the ponies you fool.”

The troll who was holding her poked her in the stomach. “Should make a good spit.” “Hey! Let me down!” Bella tried to protest, but her voice was unclear and panic-stricken.

Surprised the troll let go of her leg. “It speaks! It speaks!”

With a pained groan Bella landed on the ground. Ice spread all around her, forming into small spears to the outside.

Hysterical the trolls moved back. “It makes ice! What is this?!”

The bravest one move forward and crashed the ice with his foot. “Are you a wizard?” He clutched her upper part of the body painfully. “N-No!” Bella coughed and tried to free herself again. As soon as she touched his hand, ice spread on it and he quickly pulled it back with a yelp.

This time she managed to keep standing and caught her breath. Then her brain reacted and she turned around to run away- and ran right into Kili, her head bumped against his and she blacked out. Dwarves had hard skulls, really hard ones.

 

When Bella regained consciousness, something pressed against her back and her head throbbed. She had to blink a few times until her vision cleared. The trolls were sitting around the fire once again, this time they turned a large spit above the fire. It took her some minutes to realize that there were dwarves bind to it. Dwarves of the company!

Bella struggled to get up, but something heavy across her stomach barred her from doing so. Then she realized that there was someone lying on her. It was Oin, tied up in a bag. She herself was too. And all the other Dwarves who lay around on the pile. “You alright?” someone whispered beside her. She looked into the direction just to find her face only centimeters away from Thorins. He looked concerned. “I guess.” She replied quietly, trying not to blush too hard. She had never been this close to anyone, especially not a man!

He just nodded and looked away.

Bella again tried to sit up, but somehow ended up rolling out of the pile over several Dwarves. “Sorry, sorry.” While she struggled to stand up, she heard that the trolls were discussing on how to prepare Dwarves.

Before she could think about anything on how to distract the trolls, one noticed her. “Hey, it wants to escape.” This time they didn’t reach for her, they just stood around her to prevent her from running away. As if she could in this bag.

“You’re going nowhere.” The pushed her bag to the pile.

“N-No, no! I didn’t want to go anywhere.” “Then what do you wanted to do?”

“I… You know, you’re preparing the Dwarves totally wrong.”

“So? What do you know about cooking Dwarves?” One went back to the fire and continued turning the spit.

Bella got distracted as she saw a figure running through the near forest. Her expression lit. That was Gandalf! “Actually not quiet much, but there’s something you should really know.” She quickly looked to the Dwarves, begging for their apology. She just needed to waste enough time, Gandalf probably knew what to do to save them. “So, what is it then?” A troll asked impatiently.

“Oh, uhm… the secret to cooking Dwarves is…” What could it be? What could it be? She desperately searched her brain for something random to say.

“Yes? What is it? Say it!”

“Yes! The secret to cooking Dwarves is… to… skin them first!”

“Skin?!” The Dwarves looked at her shocked. “Are you serious?!”

One troll huffed. “That’s nonsense! Nothing’s better than a fresh, crunchy dwarf.” He picked up Bombur and held him up to bite of his head. “I-I wouldn’t eat that one!” Bella said quickly and luckily the troll lowered the dwarf.

“And why not?”

“He’s infected! He’s got parasites!” Well… it was the first thing that had come to her mind.

With a disgusted noise the troll threw Bombur back on the pile.

“In fact they all are. It’s a nasty business, I wouldn’t risk it.”

“I’ve got no parasites!” Kili shouted at her. Quickly the others joined him.

Bella sighed. They didn’t get it. She was just wasting some time and tried to save them all!

Luckily at least Thorin got it and hushed them. And then they got it too.

“I’ve got parasites.” Oin was the first one.

Gloin followed quickly. “I’ve got huge parasites!”

Soon all the Dwarves were shouting about their parasites. The trolls got more and more confused. Only one was clever enough to see through their game. Growling he walked up to Bella. “And what should we do to them then? Let them all go? Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to?”

“Ahm…” Where was Gandalf? He should have showed up by now! “Well… I…”

Suddenly the grey wizard stood on the large rock opposite of the company.

“Hey, what is this?” Surprised the trolls turned around. “Can we eat it too?”

Gandalf showed himself unimpressed by the trolls, he smashed his rod on the rock and shouted: “The dawn shall take you all!” Gleaming bright sunlight now shone on them and the trolls tried to cover their eyes and flee, but within seconds their bodies turned to stone and everything seemed to stand still.

Bella breathed out relieved. Well, that could’ve been worse…


	4. Chapter 4

It took some time until everyone had calmed down and they returned to their original camp. From now on they had to walk. In their panic, all the ponies had fled and they had taken many provisions with them. If they weren’t going to make it to the next town in time, then they had to live from what nature gave them. Like the elves.

Thorin snarled at the mere thought of eating nothing than leaves for an indefinite time. He walked around the camp in hope to find something the ponies might have dropped but except for a few blankets and some bread everything was lost.

He walked back to the others and suddenly noticed that their burglar was sitting offside on a small rock. She just put her gloves back on. Thorin stopped and watched. He just realized that he had never seen her hands stripped. From the distance everything he could see was, that they were small and a bit chubby, but at the same time soft and smooth. He hesitated, then he walked up to her. When he finally arrived at her, she was braiding some flowers in a ribbon. Of course flowers. Hobbits and their flowers…

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked her.

Their burglar shrugged. “I’ll survive.” She answered without looking up. Probably she had already heard him.

“Does your head still hurt?”

“A bit.” She looked up and tried to smile, but quickly continued with the braiding at Thorins stern face.

“Let me look.” He reached for her head to look for any injuries or bruises, but before he could even touch her, she flinched backwards, almost falling from the stone.

“Don’t!”

Confused Thorin pulled his arm back. Slight worry formed within him, but he quickly shook it off. She had never let anyone touch her. It was hopeless no matter how he tried. “Fine.” He snorted and walked away.

Bella sighed and stood up a few moments later. They needed to move on. Without the ponies they would be even slower. She wondered if anyone had seen her powers… or the events before. At the mere thought that the dwarves may have seen her with the skirt fully lifted made her whole face turn red with embarrassment immediately. Well… if they had seen it, no one spoke of it and she was glad.

 

The hiking was even more exhausting than she had ever imagined. She was falling back quickly and was stuck with Bombur as the last one. Their path led up and up, never falling or at least going flat. They were close to the mountains now, in two or three days the hiking would turn into climbing.

Bella had been lucky, no one said anything abound strange powers or underwear, so she just assumed that no one had seen anything. It was the third day after the troll incident; after just two hours of walking up they found themselves on a huge meadow with yellow grass, some fir trees and rocks. They were just about to leave the small forest they had gone through, when there was a loud noise of something that sounded like wood was clashed against stone.

Immediately everyone backed up and pulled out their swords, forming a circle to be able to defend themselves from all sides. Bofur quickly grabbed Bella by the arm and pulled her into the circle.

Scared Bella took hold of her own sword which she received from Gandalf who had found it in the trolls cave. It was not only the strange sounds coming right towards them that frightened her. She was literally being squeezed by dwarves. And fear and close physical contact wasn’t a good mixture with her. She didn’t want to freeze anyone, not really. That Bofur had actually just touched her didn’t bother her. She wore enough layers and she and Bofur actually had become pretty close friends. He had touched her by the arm often enough that she was sure that it didn’t harm anyone. But still she was somehow afraid. And that’s exactly why she felt extremely uncomfortable right now. She could already feel the air around her getting colder, when suddenly something burst out of the bush.

To everyone’s surprise this wasn’t an enemy. This looked more like a confused old man on a sled which was drawn by… rabbits? Yes, they were definitely rabbits in front of the sled.

“Gandalf! I’m so glad to find you.” The man stepped from his sled.

The old wizard smiled a bit. “Radagast, my old friend. You gave us quiet a scare.”

“Did I? Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! I… Now I forgot why I’ve come here…”

Gandalf sighed at walked away with the other man.

 

It appeared that this Radagast was a wizard and his actual name was Radagast the Brown. He valued the company of plants and animals more than people. The two wizards had wandered of and talked about something.

In the meantime the rest of the company had settled them down and ate some of the bread. Bella had moved far from the company. Luckily no one had noticed the small, now melted, snowflakes in Noris, Gloins and Bifurs hair. She looked down at her hands. For the first time she wondered what she could do with these powers. Except for harming anyone. Maybe she could let it snow or cover a whole lake in ice or even build something out of pure ice! She chuckled slightly and looked over to the dwarves. She had never thought about something like that. All this time she just had been afraid of her powers, thinking they were bad and only able to hurt others. Now she wondered why they couldn’t also be wonderful. Bella suddenly froze when she realized that she was looking right into Thorins direction and he stared right back. Quickly she looked away. She hadn’t stared, had she? Oh dear, she could already feel her head heating up with embarrassment. Of course she had to admit that the dark haired dwarf was quite attractive, but that was no reason to stare! And even less a reason to get so nervous around him. _Belladonna, you didn’t fall in love with a dwarf, now did you?_

They were all suddenly interrupted by a loud howl. Most of the dwarves were at their feet immediately.

Dwalin growled. “Wargs.”

“And when there are Wargs, there are also Orcs.” Gloin took out his axe.

Gandalf came back to them. “Let’s hope they haven’t found our scent yet. We should move.”

“We can’t.” Fili answered. “There’s open field ahead of us, they’ll see us instantly.”

“Plus we don’t have ponies anymore.” Kili added.

“Not if I distract them.” Radagast walked past them to his sled, but Gandalf stopped him. “Don’t do this. Wargs are fast.”

“So what? I bet they don’t stand a chance against my rabbits.” The other wizard grinned and hopped on his sled.

 

As soon as the brown wizard dashed out of the forest the Wargs were chasing after him. A few seconds afterwards twelve dwarves, a hobbit and a wizard came running out of the forest and took a similar direction, but tried to avoid the Orc bunch. Sometimes they turned around, sometimes they had to change their direction and sometimes they hid behind one the rocks which lay around on the open field. But it seemed of no use, the other end of the meadow wasn’t coming any nearer.

They were standing behind a rather large rock to catch their breath when there suddenly was a dark growl above of them. One of the Wargs had caught their scent and now stood right above them on the rock. Thorin was the first to react; he looked to his younger nephew and nodded. Kili knew out of instinct what to do. Quietly he took an arrow out of his quiver and shot the Warg right into the chest. Another arrow pierced the orc through his shoulder as he tried to sound his bugle. Both were falling right before the dwarves feet who beat them so long with hammer and axe until they finally laid still on the ground. They almost wanted to breath out in relieve, when they noticed something else: It was quiet.

There was no more barking and howling of the wargs that chased after a sled. They got wind of them. For a few frightening seconds everyone was quiet. Then Gandalf shouted: “Run!”

And they ran. Soon they could hear the barks of the wargs again who were now chasing after them. Bella ran faster than her short legs would normally allow her, the fear for her life making her faster. Underneath her light shoes she could feel the grass freeze, the air around her became cooler with every panicked breath she took.

Suddenly there were two wags coming down the hill ahead of them. Thorin, who had taken the lead, stopped. He clenched his sword. “Stay together!”

The Dwarves formed a large circle and took Bella in the middle again. Breathless she looked at Thorin. The way he stood there and looked around made her heart beat even faster. She was not blushing, was she?!

“Where’s Gandalf?” Dori suddenly shouted. Everyone looked around confused, but Dori was right. The wizard was gone. And the wags were surrounding them now. They all prepared themselves to fight, Kili already shot two arrows and Ori tried his best with his small slingshot.

“Here you fools!” someone suddenly shouted. It was Gandalf who stood behind a rock. “This way!”

Bombur and Bifur were the first ones to react, Bofur followed shortly after, taking Bella by the arm again and dragging her with him. The poor Hobbit looked far too frightened to move by herself. Right where Gandalf stood, behind the smaller rock, was a deep cave. Quickly everyone followed; Thorin was the last one to slide down the entrance.

They were preparing to fight once again when suddenly there was a loud, hollow tune. Someone sounded a bugle, horses trampled near the small entrance and suddenly an orc fell in front of their feet but he was already dead. An arrow had pierced right through his throat. Thorin knelt down and ripped it out. “Elfish.” He growled.

Suddenly Dwalin called from the other side of the cave. “Here’s a path, but I can’t see where it leads. Should we follow it?”

Everyone looked to Thorin who rose again. “Do we have any other choice?”

Slowly the company formed into a line and entered the narrow path. Bella walked somewhere in the middle. Although she already calmed down, she still left small frozen spots on the stone underneath her feet and Nori, who was walking behind her, couldn’t help but to wonder where these came from.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so who wants to kill me? ^^"  
> I'm so sorry guys, I went on Holidays and I had no Internet there and I totally forgot to inform you, I'm so sorry q.q  
> I hope you're not mad at me .-.

They wandered for about half an hour before the path led out of the canyon and they stood at the edge of a cliff, a valley lying before them. It was the most beautiful place Bella had ever seen. Many small cascades came running down from the cliffs all around them. Big trees grew everywhere, solid and proud in the warm sun. Ivy entwined around the stones and statues. And in the middle of the valley were many beautiful buildings made out of nothing but stone and wood. Wherever she looked she could see enchanting patterns carved out of pure wood. She had to smile as a few small birds flew right over her head. This place was so peaceful, so safe. She almost wished that they could stay a few days here.

But that wish was immediately shattered when she saw Thorins scowl. He turned to Gandalf. “Was this your plan all along? To lead us to these treacherous elves?”

The wizard hesitated.

Thorin growled. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

“We have a map that we can’t read. Lord Elrond is a highly refined elf. I’m sure he’ll be able to help us.” Quickly he added. “One or two days of rest won’t hurt and you better don’t forget that we don’t have any provisions anymore.”

Thorin ground his teeth. “Fine.” He said after a while.

 

In a line they walked down the rocky path along some trees. They only needed a few minutes to reach a bridge which crossed a river and led to the small city. The dwarves changed to a slower pace. None of them really liked anything that had to do with elves. Just like one would expect from dwarves.

They reached a square where two guards stood beside a staircase. An elf with dark hair and a night blue robe came down these stairs. He spoke to Gandalf in elfish and he answered. They were interrupted shortly after by the same hollow tune they had heard earlier. The rhythm of horse hooves neared quickly and shortly afterwards they saw large horses coming from the same bridge they had just crossed.

Quickly the dwarves moved into the circle again, Bufor dragging Bella in the middle. More and more horses crossed the bridge and encircled the company. The riders looked down to the visitors suspicious. They didn’t have guest often, especially not dwarves.

One of the elves started talking to Gandalf. It sounded like they were greeting each other. He dismounted from his horse and looked to the company. He smiled slightly. “Thorin Oakenshiled.” He greeted their leader.

“It can’t recall that we’ve met yet.” was the dull answer.

“We haven’t, indeed. But I’ve known your grandfather, Thror.”

“What business did you have with him?”

“That’s not important now.” He continued in elfish but still looked at the company.

Gloin growled. “What does he say? Does he offer us insult?”

Chuckling Gandalf stepped between them. “No master dwarf. He offers us food.”

“Well… let him continue.”

The elf they had talked with, who apparently was Lord Elrond himself, led them up the stairs and into the city of Rivendell.

 

Elrond has passed the company to other elves that showed them some rooms where they could stay and sleep. The dwarves quickly found a big fountain where they decided to bath in. Bella didn’t dare to look out of the window, she was not quite sure if she wanted to see naked dwarves…

Kili even had asked if she wanted to join them, she knew why she didn’t want to. Instead she had asked if there was some kind of bathroom where she could get herself clean. A female elf had shown her the way and prepared some hot water. Carefully she poured it into the big tub. “Here you go. Could you give me your clothes now, so I can patch it up again?” She smiled friendly at her. Bella hesitated. She didn’t really want to strip in front of an elf. It was making her quiet uncomfortable just to be looked at with all her clothes on. It was as if they could see right through her. It was creepy.

The elf laughed a bit. “Understood, sorry. Just hand me them when you’re done.” She left the room and closed the door behind her.

Bella sighed relieved. That elf wasn’t so bad. Quickly she got out of her clothes and folded them the best she could. In nothing but her underwear, socks and gloves she quickly handed the clothes to the elf who waited outside. “Thanks. I put a dress on your bed, it’s actually for children so it should be about your size.”

“Thank you.” Bella smiled shyly, then closed the door again. Now she had to be quick. Bathing was always difficult, but luckily the powers were the worst on her feet and hands. Normally she just washed her hair. Quickly she got rid of her underwear and climbed with socks and gloves into the tub, carefully not to get her hands and feet wet. When she lay in the, far too big tub, she first stripped off her socks, then the gloves. Then she went diving for a moment. The sensation of the streaming hot water only comfortably warm against her bare skin was like a dream. But she needed to hurry. Although it took some time until her powers cooled down hot water, she didn’t want to risk sitting in frozen water until someone found her. Apart from that she was completely naked it was quiet hard to explain how the water was able to freeze at such temperatures.

So she just quickly washed herself and then stepped out of the, already cooled down water. First she dried her hands to slip on her gloves again, then quickly dried the rest of her body and wrapped her hair into a smaller towel. Luckily the powers didn’t affect fabric, otherwise it would be a bit difficult with clothes, but wet fabric was another thing… That’s why the towel had some ice in it after she had dried her feet.

In nothing than underwear, socks and gloves she entered her room again – without checking. Thus it happened that she suddenly faced Thorin who stood at the window. He had probably waited for her.

Immediately her face turned bright red and she disappeared into the bathroom again and slammed the door. _Shit, shit, shit. He hadn’t seen her this way, had he?_ Dear god, he had seen her with nothing than underwear! This was so embarrassing!

She heard a brief knock and Thorin cleared his throat on the other side of the door. “Miss Baggins? I just wanted to inform you that we’ll eat dinner now. If you want to join us.” He said with some moments silence between his sentences. And he went again.

Sighing she leaned her head against the door. Oh great. She didn’t want to know what he was thinking of her now. Peeking through a small gap she made sure that no one was in the room this time. No one was. Quickly she made her way to the bed and dressed herself.

 

Thorin tried to hide the small red spots on his cheeks as he made his way back to the others. Yes, had just seen their burglar almost naked. But there was no need to turn red because of this. Her sweet, round body with not a single hair on it was nothing like anything that could please him. Not a single muscle had been shown, only soft skin. He couldn’t help but to wonder what it would be like to grab her by her pelvis, to bury his nose in her neck, how she smelled there, to run his hands over her smooth skin and- _Okay, stop right there!_

He forced himself to stop thinking. These were no thoughts for him. She was a Hobbit! A simple hobbit whom they had hired to be their burglar. Nothing more. He sat down on his seat again and waited until dinner was served.

After a few more minutes their burglar joined. She wore elven fabric. Thorin sighed. They had been offered to borrow some clothes as well, but none of them had agreed. But he had to admit, she looked pretty. The ocean blue of the simple dress nestled around her small body. It was hanging a bit loose around her shoulders, covering the floor around her feet – It was still too big. Even with the small silver belt around her waist. Her long light hair was finally clean and combed again, running down her back in waves. Blast it, she didn’t looked _pretty_ , she looked stunning beautiful!

Smiling shyly she made her way to the last free seat between Kili and Bofur. Everyone greeted her friendly.

Soon dinner was served and the dwarves looked suspicious at the ‘green food’. Some complained about the missing meat, but they were all so hungry that they ate it sooner or later. Shortly afterwards they started getting annoyed by the soft harp tunes of the elfish maidens. Oin even stuffed his handkerchief in his ear trumpet.

Bofur finally saved the situation and climbed on the table, knocking over many plates and glasses. When he stood on the table, he started to sing.

 

_There’s an inn, a merry old inn_

_Beneath an old grey hill_

_And there they brew a beer so brown_

_The man in the moon himself came down_

_One night to drink his fill_

Quickly the other dwarves joined him, singing loudly and starting to throw the food around.

 

_The ostler had a tipsy cat_

_That played a five stringed fiddle_

_And up and down he saws his bow_

_Now squeaking high, now purring low_

_Now sawing in the middle_

_So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle_

_A jig that would wake the dead_

_He squeaked and sawed and quickened tune_

_While the landlord shoot the man in the moon_

_‘It’s after three!’ he said_

The dwarves cheered and threw even more food around, as Bofur began to dance. Suddenly he bent down before Bella. “How about a dance?” he asked grinning.

“Uhm… no, no thank you.” She actually looked scared.

“Ah, come on. Don’t be a killjoy!” Bofur gripped her gloved hands and pulled her up on the table.

“Bufor, no!” The Hobbit cried frightened, trying to free herself. Then everything went awfully fast. She must have slipped out of her gloves and lost every hold, because she fell from the low table with a yelp. Bofur kept standing there confused while holding two gloves in his hand. Nothing unordinary so far, but when Bella fell to the floor there was a strange noise and suddenly large icicles spread to all sides, pure ice covering the floor around the hobbit.

Everyone and everything went silent within seconds, all eyes turned to the hobbit lying on the floor. She stared back, eyes wide with fear. The temperature dropped almost to freezing point. And before anyone else could react she was at her feet again, running away. No one saw the tears on her face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good morning! (or whatever time it is with you)  
> First of all I want to thank you for all the kudos, Bookmarks and awesome comments! I feel so honored everytime I get one and it always motivates me to Keep writing. So let me hug everyone of you! :D *hugs*

It felt like an eternity until someone dared to move again. It was Thorin, running after Bella.

The rest of the dwarves started whispering, some elves stared at the ice shocked.

Elrond rose. “Please, there’s no need to panic. I’ll talk to her.” He disappeared, followed by Gandalf.

 

It wasn’t difficult to find Bella, she had left frozen spots on the ground wherever she had run. Thorin quickly found her in one of the gardens, sitting behind a rather big statue in the middle of frozen flowers, sobbing heartbreakingly.

She didn’t notice him while he stood there and watched her. For the first time since many years he felt helpless. He didn’t know what to do, he just wanted her to stop crying. Swallowing hard he knelt down beside her. “Bella?” he whispered.

She flinched away from him, robbing on her knees. “No! Go away! Don’t come any nearer!” Her voice was thick with fear, almost panic. The same that lay in her eyes. Tears ran down her face without stopping.

Thorin felt his heart ache a bit. He felt bad for her. He really did. “Bella, I-“ he tried again, but was interrupted by Gandalf and Lord Elrond who joined them now.

“Thorin, step back.” Gandalf said.

Well, the wizard probably knew what the best to do now was. He stood up and took a step back.

Gandalf now knelt down before the weeping hobbit. “Bella, my dear lass, please stop crying.” He whispered gently and handed her her gloves.

Quickly she took them and put them on.

“See, that’s better. Now, let’s go inside, I think we have a lot to talk about.” He carefully helped her up.

 

It still took about a full hour until they sat in the library by themselves. Thorin, Elrond and Gandalf on one side, Bella (with a big cup of hot tea and many blankets) on the other.

The wizard finally broke the silence. “Bella, my dear-“

“You knew, didn’t you?” she interrupted him.

Gandalf hesitated, but sighed finally. “Yes.”

“Did my parents tell you?”

“Your mother did. Your father wanted to keep it secret, it had been his idea to isolate you. He always hoped it would just disappear one day. But it never did. He was always worried about you, they both were.”

She sniffled and took a sip out of her cup. “But if you knew, why did you want me to join the company?”

Now the stern face softened and he chuckled a bit. “Because we’re on our way to face a dragon, a fire breathing one. And there’s nothing more effective against fire dragons than ice, is it?”

“But I can’t control it!”

“Then you’ll have to learn it.” Elrond now joined the conversation.

“But how? I- I just don’t want to hurt anyone with this!” Fresh tears slipped out of her eyes and the air became a bit cooler.

“Miss Baggins, please, there’s no need to get upset about this.” Elrond rose from his seat. “I’m sure there’s a way to control this… magic.”

“Her parents have tried everything, nothing had ever helped.” Gandalf said.

“I do not wish to insult them, but I don’t think they had a library like we do.” The Elf smiled. “But before we can search for anything, I need to know more specific details.”

Bella nodded slightly and just began to talk. About how the powers grew over the years. About what happened when got upset or sad. Simply everything that came to her mind. And it felt great. All this time she had kept it for herself, letting everything out now, telling someone, felt like such a great relieve.

It took almost about an hour until she was finished. Elrond had listened patiently, just like Gandalf. Thorin had just looked at her all the time, not moving in his seat. It had made her quiet uncomfortable, but somehow she had managed to blank it out.

After she had finished the elf looked out into the fresh night for a while until he nodded. “I’ll try my best to find something. You should rest now.” He smiled friendly. “I hope you sleep well, good night.” With these words he left the library.

 

To say that Thorin was in a bad mood the next morning was an understatement. He had barely slept and the news that they were running out of time to reach the mountain didn’t make it any better.

“Hey, where’s Bella?” Kili asked at breakfast. Of course all the Dwarves were curious, none of them knew what exactly had happened yesterday.

“She isn’t going to join us, I’m afraid.” Gandalf sat down on the low table.

“But… why?!” The dwarves looked sad and disappointed.

“She’s busy.” Thorin mumbled. One point more on the list why he was in a bad mood. Lord Elrond decided that the hobbit should stay with him over the day, learning how to control these powers. As if he knew something about this…

“Busy with what?” Fili wasn’t going to give up that easily.

“Just busy, can’t we leave it at that?” Their leader almost growled.

No one answered, everyone ate their breakfast in silence.

“Is she going to leave us now?” Ori asked quietly at some point.

Thorin really hoped not. He didn’t wanted to leave the hobbit behind. The thought of not having her in the company anymore made him sick. “We’ll see.”

 

No one saw Belladonna over the day. And with every passing hour Thorin got more and more impatient. He had planned to leave the next morning, but he wouldn’t leave without their burglar.

The dwarves passed the day with sleeping or generally doing nothing. It was a welcoming change after the long days on the road. Everyone was exhausted and they knew that the longest part of their journey was still ahead of them. So they just enjoyed the relaxed day.

Fili and Kili were exploring the town and playing tricks on the elves. Probably they also had managed to destroy something…

Balin, Oin and Ori had found the library and were busy with reading ancient dwarven stories. They really were the only ones who were interested in books. Other dwarves would assume it was some kind of throwing weapon if you gave them a book.

Dwalin and Gloin had ~~stolen~~ borrowed some material to sharpen their weapons again. They had blunted so far that they were almost of no use. And a dwarf with a blunt axe was even less of use.

Nori was probably looking for something he could just swipe without anyone noticing.

And the rest was lying lazily in the gardens enjoying the sun and peace. Only Thorin was sitting on the stairs impatiently. It was close to afternoon now and there was still no sign of their hobbit. It made him uncomfortable, almost angry, to know that she was with elves all the time. He breathed out sighing. This was ridiculous, why did he care so much about what she did? She didn’t belong to him. _Pity…_

                                 

Noon turned into afternoon and afternoon into evening. Still no sign of their hobbit. Now Thorin really was a bit angry. What were these elves doing with her? He swore, by Mahal, if she was hurt or anything these elves would pay!

When the sun went down to the mountains and making the sky shine in a warm orange they were called for dinner. It took some time until the elves had found all dwarves. No wonder, many of them weren’t used to look down so they just overlooked them. Again it was ‘green food’ but the dwarves didn’t complain this time, they knew they wouldn’t get anything else here.

Shortly after they had started eating Gandalf joined them, but he neither said where he had been all day nor where their hobbit was. He just winked. “Wait and see.”

So they waited but nothing happened. Sometimes someone would stop eating to look at the entrance to the dining room, but it stayed empty.

After what felt like an eternity Lord Elrond suddenly stepped into the room. “Please excuse my delay.”

Thorin immediately stood up. “Where’s our hobbit?” He was really angry now.

The elf smirked slightly. “Do not worry master dwarf, Miss Baggins is perfectly fine.”

“Where is she?” “I’m here.” came the respond from behind the elf.

Elrond stepped aside and revealed the hobbit. Everyone stopped and looked at her. She looked even more beautiful than yesterday evening. Small white, purple and blue flowers were braided into her hair. The ice blue dress with a see-through train fitted like a glove, leaving, to the surprise of many, her shoulders and arms bare. Her feet, too, were bare against the stone floor. Even her hands were without gloves for once.

Thorin gulped. She looked so beautiful, he wouldn’t even imagine how she would look in dwarven dresses and jewelry. Suddenly he had the urge to claim her, running his hands over her smooth skin and just to feel her body beneath his. Quickly he shook his head, what were such thoughts doing in his head?!

Bella smiled shyly, keeping her hands clasped together. Surprisingly there was no ice around her bare feet and the air was still comfortably warm. Did she actually manage to control her powers? If she did, they would have an inestimably power on their side. Like Gandalf already said, what could be better against a fire breathing dragon that ice?

“Bella, my dear, sit down.” The wizard pointed to the empty seat beside him.

She hesitated slightly, but then moved towards without making any sound, sitting down on the seat next to Gandalf. Carefully she organized her dress, when her hands accidentally hit the table it didn’t freeze. She let out a sound of surprise, then laid her hands on the table. Nothing happened. A happy smiled stretched across her lips and she whispered something and Gandalf smiled, whispering back.

Thorin watched it with critical eyes. What were they talking about?

The evening continued but Thorin never got the chance to talk to Bella, nor get even near her. And then it was already too late, right after dinner she headed for bed. The dwarf sighed and looked into the darkening sky. Why did he behave like that?!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my.... I'm so sorry guys! It's been a horribly busy day today and I just noticed that it's thursday again and I have to upload a new chapter!

The first rays of sunlight barely leaked over the surrounding mountains when the company was finished with packing. They had received a lot of supplies for the following weeks, maybe even months. Gathered at the very same place where they had entered the city, they waited for their last member. Thorin looked around impatiently; Bella hadn’t shown up yet. He had heard how Lord Elrond had offered her to stay in Rivendell and she didn’t seem to be displeased with it. All night he had hoped she wouldn’t agree, because that meant that she would leave them, leave him. Hesitating he looked back to his fellow companions. In such a short time that damned sweet hobbit had took a little part of all their hearts. The way she smiled shyly, how she cared for everyone, her big curious eyes whenever they sat together at the camp fire and someone was telling stories. It was impossible not to like her, not to let her steal a small part of their hearts. He sighed, a big part in his case… A really big part. She really was a burglar.

They waited for some time longer until the first ones got impatient. “When do we finally leave?” “Where’s Bella?” “Why is Gandalf not here yet?”

Oh yes, the wizard was another thing, he didn’t show up either. But Thorin didn’t really care, he would come after them no matter what.

After a few more minutes suddenly a hustling sound of bare feet against stone came towards them. Hopefully Thorin looked up and couldn’t help but to smile.

It was Bella, their hobbit, who came rushing down the stairs. Her skirt was shortened, it now ended right below her knees, there were no trousers or shoes anymore, just soft skin. Her blouse, too, revealed now her forearms, the gloves were missing. The white-brown hair flew loose around her shoulders or hanging around in her face. She smiled widely, her eyes glowing with excitement and her cheeks rosy. “I’m sorry, I just overslept.”

“It’s fine.” Thorin could hear himself say. “Have you packed everything?”

She nodded. “Yes, since yesterday evening.”

He simply returned the nod. For a moment he stood still and thought about what to say, but then he simply turned around and started walking. “Let’s go, we still have a long way ahead of us.”

 

In a line they walked along a narrow path by the cliffs and right after they had left the valley the mountains rose high into the sky right before them. It was an impressive sight. Especially for Bella, never before she had seen mountains this close. Of course during their journey she had caught a glimpse of these monstrous hills but now, as she was here, right before them, it was an amazing experience.

She hadn’t even noticed that she had stopped walking until Bofur gently grapped her arm. “You’ll see enough of these, trust me.”, he whispered.

Bella flinched and jerked her arm back, then she realized what just had happened. Someone had touched her, actually touched her bare skin and nothing had happened. Unable to hide it she smiled widely. “I really hope to.”

Bofur just smiled back and walked past her, she joined the line again and their journey continued.

 

For almost a whole week they were on the road again, when it happened. It had been raining for three days now and everybody’s mood was ruined. Their clothes were soaking wet, the paths got smaller with every new mountain and the lack of sleep was wearing on all of them.

Thorin had already given up trying to tie his hair back, it stuck everywhere in his face and he somehow got used to it. Every now and then he stopped to look over the long line which was following him, recounting just to make sure everybody was still there. He was their leader after all and he had to make sure that everyone would be alright and survived until they reached their destination. But he quickly noticed, since a few times he had turned around, that their burglar was falling behind.

Bella was at the end of the line, just Bombur right behind her, a comforting hand on her back to help her up every time she slipped and almost fell. Her clothes were practically glued to her fragile tiny body and she was shivering from the cold, her breath coming out in soft pants from exhaustion. Thorin couldn’t help but to wonder if he was just imagining the frozen spots beneath her feet. It hurt in his heart just to turn around and keep walking, but he had to prioritize. And his very first goal was to reach the mountain on time.

It was close to nightfall when suddenly a loud rumble was heard. Nothing out of the ordinary since there was a thunderstorm right above them, but this was louder than thunder. Like big stones were clashed against each other with great force. Only a few seconds after that, rocks fell down from the mountains right above them. With a surprised yelp everyone bore themselves against the cliffs, trying not to be carried away by the big rocks into the deeps of the canyon. As soon as it seemed to be over Thorin started yelling. “Go! Go! Go!” He sensed that it was not over yet. This had been just the start of something. He didn’t know what, but he knew they had to seek shelter for the night immediately. It had just gotten even more dangerous out here.

Suddenly Balin stopped, his eyes fixed on a point somewhere in the dark night. “That’s no thunderstorm. It’s a thunderbattle!” He pointed to where he looked and everybody saw it. Through the dark and heavy rain they could see a mountain moving. No, no mountain. More like rocks, giant rocks shaped like men, breaking large rocks from mountaintops and throwing them against each other.

“Oh bless me…” It was Bofur, making himself taller to get a better look. “The legends are true. Stone giants!”

A rock was thrown, hitting a stone giant right behind them. It fell back on the mountain, causing it to shake like an earthquake.

“Keep close to the walls!” Thorin shouted against the storm. Not a second too early as the path to their feet suddenly started to fall apart, getting narrower until it was almost impossible to keep going. And if all this hadn’t been enough now the stones beneath them started to move. With a rumble they parted into two, moving forward. Way up, above them, the mountain itself started to move, another stone giant coming to life and joining the battle. But before it could rise to its full height, another giant crashed it head against him and it fell back.

The company desperately held onto the wall, their feet loosing hold again and again as small stones rolled underneath them. Fingers clawed onto every bump of the rocks, trying to get a hold, but the stones were wet and they slipped over and over. When the giant crashed back into the mountain, the first group managed to jump on the path again, saving themselves from the giant. Just in time before it stood up again, leaving the other group no choice but to stay where they were, clutching the wet rocks for some foothold.

Unfortunately Bella was in exactly this group. She felt the fear and panic in her, felt the cold. Still she was fighting against it, but she was fighting a losing battle and already felt the first ice underneath her hands and feet. Then suddenly they were thrown forward, she yelped and tried to push herself back onto the wall, but suddenly every hold was lost, for a brief seconds she felt like flying, then falling. Luckily Dwalin reacted in time and grabbed her arm, pulling her back on the small path.

The hobbit cried in fear and squeezed on the rocks. A small sob escaped her throat and suddenly the temperature dropped down to freezing point. The other dwarves yelped in surprise when ice spread underneath them, heisting them every foothold.

Meanwhile the stone giant had lost it head from a giant flying rock and crashed right back into the mountain.

The first group could only look helplessly as the others crashed right into the rocks. The giant fell into the deep canyon, no sign of the other group. So hopefully they had managed it to get back onto the path.

Still Thorin ran forward, shouting for his younger nephew, who had been with the others. Fili followed right afterwards, the others on his heels. Everybody sighed relieved when they saw the other group on the path, lying in a huge mess of arms and legs, but they all seemed fine. Groaning one after another rose, trying to keep their balance on the small, wet path. The others stepped to them to help them.

Then suddenly Bofur yelled: “Bella! Where’s Bella? Where’s our Hobbit?!”

Immediately everyone looked around, calling for their hobbit. It was Ori who found her and called for the others. “Here!”

Bella was hanging by the edge of the cliff, small fingers clutching the rocks for her dear life and eyes wide with fear.

“Bella!” Everybody came running to her, but she lost hold when they reached her. She would have fallen down, if it hadn’t been for the small ledge in the rocks which she held on now with just one hand, her legs dangling helplessly in the air, desperately searching for foothold.

Bofur and Ori threw themselves on the ground and reached down. “Grab my hand!” Only a few centimeters parted them, she could easily reach up and grab their hands, but her body was frozen with fear, not able to hear on her orders. For a second a thought crossed her mind: Simply letting go. Ending this nightmare and curse.

But before she could think further, a strong hand clutched her arm and almost threw her upward. Many other hands clutched her and pulled her back onto the path, safe to the rocks. She heard a cry, someone else shouting and suddenly everyone was quiet again. Hesitating she dared to look up, only to be met with Thorins hard gaze. Immediately she knew what had happened. Thorin had saved her and almost fell into the deeps himself, probably because he had slipped on ice which she had left. She had almost killed him!

Dwalin, who probably was the one who had pulled Thorin back on the path again, stood up again. “I thought we’d lost our burglar.”

Thorin didn’t move, he just stared at her. “She’s been lost ever since she left home. She should never have come. – She has no place among us.” He simply turned around and continued walking.

Sobbing Bella looked down. Those words had pierced right through her heart. Looks like she really had imagined the soft looks from Thorin towards her… She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she just stood up and followed the others, leaving a frozen surface wherever she touched the stone with bare skin.


	8. Chapter 8

He hadn’t meant it. Not a single word, he didn’t know why he had said any of this. The look in Bella’s eyes has made him regret every word immediately, but something had stopped him from apologizing. Maybe it had been the shock of almost falling down the canyon, maybe also his damned pride. His heart ached when he thought what he had said to her. It wasn’t her fault that she had slipped on the wet stones or that she almost fell. It could have happened to everyone, even to him. Bad luck that it had been her, nothing more.

Thorin closed his eyes and sighed quietly. They had found a cave not long after and decided to stay there to get some sleep and let their clothes dry. It was pretty quiet, only the thunder from outside echoing through the small cave and some dwarves snorting could be heard. And it was cold, he already used all his blankets and coats and he was still shivering. It was Bella, he knew. Just when things started to go downhill anyway, she had lost control again. And she didn’t have anything with her to cover up her bare skin, so she spread the cold everywhere. It was his fault, maybe, if he hadn’t said all of this-

He sighed again and opened his eyes, it was no use just to lay there and try to sleep when the guilt lay heavy on him. He should apologize, right now. He wouldn’t risk losing their burglar. But just as he was about to sit up and look if Bella was still awake, he heard a rustling from fabric as if someone stood up. Just a few moments later he heard Bofur say: “Bella? What are you doing?”

There was a short silence before the hobbit answered. She was only whispering and her voice sounded like she had been crying. “Maybe he was right.”

“You mean Thorin?”

She probably nodded.

Bofur stood up, but she took a few steps back. “He was right. I just don’t belong in the world outside. My place’s in the Shire. Alone.”

“Don’t say that….”

“I’m sorry.” He heard a forced smile out of her voice.

“If you want to go, I won’t stop you, but-”

“You better don’t. I don’t wanna hurt anyone with this.”

“But you haven’t-“

“Not yet! But when I was a kid I almost froze my cousin because I accidentally touched her. Just one touch and she almost died!”

There was a long silence until Bofur spoke again. “I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do.”

“Thank you Bofur.”

Thorin swallowed hard. She was leaving, exactly what he had feared the most. And he knew, no matter what he would try, she wouldn’t change her mind. Not after what he had said. But then he heard Bofur talking again. “What’s this?”

A long silence followed and Thorin dared to look over his shoulder to where Bofur and Bella were standing. She had her sword unsheathed and it was glowing in a dim blue light. He knew what this meant, everyone knew what this meant. Goblins or Orcs nearby.

Quickly Thorin sat up. “Wake up! Wake up!”

Immediately everyone woke up confused but a hand on their weapon already. And then everything happened very fast. The ground underneath them gave in and they were falling. Falling deeper and deeper into the mountain itself, clashing against stones and rocks until they finally landed in something that may be a prison build out of bones, wood and stones, but it was open on one side where a stone path lead deeper into the mountain. Groaning the dwarves tried to sit up although lying on each other made it quite difficult.

And then, suddenly, many, many voices shouted in a foreign language and a huge pack of goblins rushed to the prison, pulling the dwarves to their feet and pushing them along the path, shouting at them with their loud and ugly voices.

The Dwarves lashed about them, but they were held tight and dragged with the goblins. They shouted, cursed and hit everything near them, but it was of no use.

And in the middle of that chaos was Bella, frightened and unoriented. She could feel the cold and the ice beneath her feet when she realized something. The goblins paid no attention to her, she was just pushed forward. Taking her chance she ducked down and waited scared until the pack had passed and it was getting quiet again. Forcing herself to breath calmly she stood up again and watched the torches disappear behind a corner. Sitting back down on the cold stone she tried to sort her thoughts. It had been a trap, they had been falling down a trap the goblins had made and now she was the only one not captured… She had to save the others! But how? There were too many goblins and she had no idea how many others were there too. She had no chance alone. With shaking legs she stood up again and looked around helplessly. What was she supposed to do now? Those things would probably kill the Dwarves. She needed to save them! Unsheathing her sword she carefully walked forward, but suddenly another goblin jumped onto the path and growled at her. Yelping with surprise and scare Bella jumped back and fidgeted with her sword helplessly. The goblin watched her confused, then laughed and attacked her with his own dagger. Somehow she managed to block the hit but fell on the ground, the goblin above her immediately. It laughed and raised the dagger. Panicked Bella tried to shield her face with her arms when suddenly the goblin fell backwards, screaming. When she dared to look up he could see that his face was covered in tiny ice pieces. He attacked again, furious now and out of reflex Bella reached out both her hands and sent thousand small ice slivers against the goblin. He cried out in pain but tackled her. She fell back, tripping over a bump on the path. With a small yelp she desperately reached out for something but only grabbed the goblins belt. Still she held on and they both were falling down into the dark.

 

When Bella regained consciousness again, the first thing she realized was that everything hurt. Especially her head. Groaning she sat up and tried to focus on her surroundings, but it was too dark. All she saw was the ice all around her, formed into spears so that nothing could come near her. It was nice to defend one self, but getting out was also a problem. She climbed over the spears, nearly slipping and falling several times but in the end she somehow managed it anyway and felt her way ahead over cold stone, deep in the mountain. Suddenly she tripped over something and scared she jumped back, her sword in her hands. It was frozen anyway, so it made no difference if she held it with bare hands. But nothing moved and it was dead silent, only her breath and fast beating heart filled her ears. When her eyes got used to the darkness she could see a human-like figure on the ground. But it was ugly and it’s skin looked unhealthy yellow. Slowly she stepped nearer and recognized the goblin which attacked her earlier. Its head was twisted unnaturally and blood sept through wounds caused by ice slivers. Shocked she staggered back. This was her doing! She had killed him!

Shacking she quickly turned around and pushed the thought aside. He attacked her first, basically this had been self-defense. Bella looked around. She had to get out of here, but way up was too rampant to climb. This meant she had to find another way out. Sighing she followed the small path between large rocks. Hopefully there _was_ another way out.

She wondered how deep she had fallen but her thoughts were interrupted when she stepped into something wet. Scared she took a step back, but bowed down and tried to recognize what she just had stepped in. It was water. She sighed. _Great._ She couldn’t swim or had any idea how to cross water and it appeared that there was a lake right in front of her. But otherwise… Carefully she bowed down again and realized, that the puddle was frozen from the short touch with her foot. Well, one problem solved. She could get further but she still had no idea how to escape these caves… Carefully she kept going, the puddles on the ground kept getting more and more, she couldn’t be far from the lake now.

While keeping going she gripped her sword tightly. It was so dark now she couldn’t see what was a few feet in front of her, she almost expected something to creep out of the darkness and trying to kill her. But it stayed quiet. She felt water under her feet again, it froze immediately. Another step, more water. Another step, even more water. She had reached the lake now. Even more careful she stepped forward now, trying not so slip on the ice and just trusting her senses to direct her out of these caves. After some time she actually managed to cross the lake and find another tunnel which she simply followed.

After some time, she didn’t know anymore how long she had been straying now. Maybe it had been some minutes, maybe already hours. Nothing so far, a few times she had been going in circles and had been surprised to find ice but then remembered she had left it there. Several times she had fallen over a rock, the knees and palms were probably pretty bloody by now. Bella was tired, her feet hurt and her stomach was demanding food, she felt as if she could faint any time now. But somehow she managed to keep going, always keep going until she suddenly saw faint light at the end of the tunnel. Her shoulders dropped and she sighed relieved. _Finally…_

She was about to walk towards it when she heard shouting and many figures ran through the light. Bellas hear jumped with joy. The dwarves and Gandalf! They were alive! She wanted to call for them, but no sound escaped her throat. Maybe she hadn’t talked for a long while now… Nevertheless her legs started running towards the light and following the company. She just wanted to be out of this mountain and breathing fresh air again. When she stepped into the light of the sinking sun it felt as if a huge weight was falling from her. The air was fresh and the sun was warm, for a second she felt as if she was back in the Shire, safe and sound. Then a cold wind reminded her of where she was.

Gulping she looked down on herself. She looked like some beggar from Bree, her clothes and skin dirty and torn, her hair nothing more than a tangled mess and knees and palms bloody. _This isn’t my kind of adventure…_ She thought to herself and started following the dwarves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys, I decided that I'll answer every comment from now on, so please do me a favor and write enough that I can give a proper answer ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point I'd like to apologize for crappy describtions, I'm still learning english, so...  
> If this is getting too ridiculous for anyone you can gladly leave this story because that won't be the last time something like this happens ;) (read it and you'll know what I'm talking about)

While running down the small meadow Bella heard Gandalf. He was talking to the dwarves and suddenly she heard her name, Gandalf was shouting now. He must have noticed that she was missing. The Dwarves started shouting too, blaming each other for losing sight of her. Then Thorin talked.

Bellas heart jumped with relief, he was alive, he was alright. And then she came near enough to hear his words and her feet stopped abruptly. “-she saw her chance and took it. She’s long gone.”

Was this really what he thought of her? Did he really think she would leave them behind? That she could do something like that? She was about to turn around, when suddenly she saw Thorins gaze. He looked… worried. And sad. Because of her?

When she silently came nearer she could see it in everyones eyes. And then she made her decision.

She stepped out of the trees. “She isn’t.” Her voice was still rough and it almost hurt to speak again, but she had been loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Bella!” Many faces immediately lit up and the dwarves turned around to her.

Gandalf laughed a bit. “Belladonna Baggins. I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my life.” He walked up to her, looking her over.

She smiled back, though she knew what she probably looked like.

“How did you get past the goblins?” Fili looked relieved, but also a bit suspicious.

Chuckling she shrugged. “Fell down a cave and somehow made my way out.”

“You fell down a cave?” Now Gandalf really looked worried. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Miss Baggins.” It was Thorin now who spoke.

Only hesitating Bella looked to him. The words from yesterday still cut deep when she remembered them. But now the look he gave her made her heart warm up.

“Why did you come back?” Even his voice was soft now.

Silently she smiled a bit, then she shrugged, looking for the right words. “I know you doubt me. I know… I know you always have. And you’re right, I often thought about taking my chance and going back.” She licked her dry and chapped lips. “But I didn’t. Yes, I miss my home. Because I always thought that I… that I was safe there. Isolated and alone. Because I couldn’t stand the thought of hurting someone with this curse... But now I’m here, miles away from home. Miles away from where I belong.” She laughed a bit. “See, when I was a kid my mother often told me about her great adventures. And of course I… I was a small child, of course it always fascinated me. But these adventures were nothing in comparison to the thought of coming home. You know, opening the same door every evening, stepping into the comfortable warmth, smelling dinner and being welcomed by your family, the people you love. That’s what home means. And you guys… you don’t have one. That’s why I came back.” She finally dared to look up again and smiled. The Dwarves watched her silently, but there was a spark in everyone’s eyes that made her heart heat up to a point she had never experienced before. “Because you don’t have one… A home. It was taken from you. But I signed that contract. And I promise, I’ll try everything I can to help you take it back.”

There was a long silence, no one dared to say anything. And Thorin continued to look at Bella. She swore there was a hint of smile on his face that made her chuckle. She didn’t know why, but she felt so… light. Relieved and free.

“Bella…” It was Gandalf who first spoke again.

Surprised everyone looked at him, then followed his gaze to the hobbits feet. She took a surprised step back. Underneath her feet she felt the hard rock, no ice, no coldness. “What…?”

They were interrupted by the howl of wolves. Everyone grabbed their weapons.

Thorin glared into their darkening surroundings. “Out of the fire…”

“And into the frying pan.” Gandalf turned around. “Run!”

Everybody gladly followed the wizard’s advice and started running. Jumping over stones and from rocks, through tall trees and over light grass. And then suddenly the first ones got slower and slower. Bella wondered why they stopped running but then she saw it herself. The meadow ended with a single tall tree. There was no escape since they were standing high on a cliff. Deep down below there was a forest, but it was too high and dangerous to try and climb down.

Out of breath she stopped. This was a dead end. They were trapped. Suddenly a warg was standing right in front of her. She tried to back up, but her back hit a rock. Quickly she unsheathed her sword and held it in front of her, somehow trying to keep the dangerously growling warg at bay. But it made a jump ahead, mouth wide open and ready to attack. Later everyone would say it had been sheer luck that the wolf had jumped head first into her blade, the fine elfish iron cutting through the skull like warm butter.

Shocked Bella looked as the warg just fell to his side, dead. And suddenly she heard Gandalf shout: “Up into the trees!”

That was probably a good idea since she already heard a new pack of wargs coming down to them. She grabbed her sword and wanted to follow the company up into the trees, but the dagger was stuck. _Oh no, please don’t!_ Desperately she pulled at it, but it took way too long until it finally was free again. The wargs had almost arrived, when Bella was pulled up a tree from Balin. Scared she held on to the branches and didn’t dare to look down. Falling down would be a death sentence.

But suddenly the wargs went quiet and backed up, still growling. Through the leaves Bella could see even more of the wolf creatures coming to them, but these had riders on them, Orcs. At the front there was a pale, almost white, one, covered in scars, his left arm replaced by an iron frame. He growled through his sharp teeth and spoke in a language she couldn’t understand. She heard Thorins name, then the orc smiled and said something else. Out of nowhere the wargs started howling again and jumped up the trees, biting the branches off and trying to climb up to the company.

Frightened now, the Hobbit climbed even higher until the branched didn’t held her anymore. The tree shook and suddenly it rooted out, falling down on the next one. Immediately everyone climbed to the next one, but it didn’t bear up the sudden weight and gave in too. One after another keeled over until the whole company was crowded on the very last tree, right at the edge of the cliff. Bella didn’t even dare to look down. On one side there were the wargs and orcs, on the other it went down, very deep down. They were all doomed.

She would die here, torn apart by these creatures. A desperate sob escaped her throat and the branches under her skin froze.

“Bella!”

Startled she looked up to Dori. He was pointing at the frozen branch, then down to the roots which bend dangerously. “Freeze it!”

She nodded hesitating - she had no idea how to do it. Shaking she laid a hand on the trunk and immediately the ice spread everywhere. Concentrating she tried to guide it down and it really worked, the cold blue spreading down to the roots and even further over the ground. The wargs yelped and jumped back, only a few dared to come near to the tree again.

“Good job!” Someone called from above.

She had to smile a bit. This felt great. Not just bearing it down, _using_ it. Reaching out to the wargs she tried to recall what she’d done to throw the ice slivers, but apparently she didn’t need to do anything. As soon as her hand was spread the slivers shoot down, hitting one of the wolf creatures. It whined and went out of reach immediately. How did she do that? Why could she, all of sudden, _control_ it?

All of sudden a burning fir cone flew past her and set the other trees on fire, forcing the wargs to go back even further. Surprised she looked up to see Gandalf lightning even more fir cones and throwing it to the dwarves who used them to cast the wargs out. Trying to be helpful she threw even more slivers and somehow they managed to keep them completely at bay.

The company yelled in victory- too early, because now even the last three started to bend under the weight, rooting out until it was lying right above the abyss, only held by a few roots. Bella was thrown back by the sudden movement and almost fell but managed to get hold on a branch. She heard cries from somewhere and could only pray that no one had fallen.

She caught a glimpse of someone walking past her on the trunk. When she looked up she saw Thorin, sword unsheathed and walking proud against the pale orc. He wasn’t really… He wouldn’t face him, would he?

The dwarf walked past the fires and Bella lost all sight of him. Fear, almost panic, rose inside her. That orc would kill him! Suddenly she heard a loud growl, Thorin groaning painfully. Then everything turned into a blur. The wargs growled feisty, the pale orc laughed in his confident of victory and Thorin cried of pain.

Before she even realized that she had stood up, she was already throwing herself at an orc, which was about to behead the dwarf. Sword drawn she pulled him down, pressing a hand in his face and jabbing him with the sword. He couldn’t even scream, so fast spread the ice over him and made all his body functions stop.

Stumbling back she suddenly realized what she just had done. In her fury and worry she had killed this orc. He had started! He had wanted to kill Thorin!

Still breathing heavily Bella realized that she was standing right in front of Thorin now. Between him and the orc pack. The pale orc smiled down to her insulting. He saw no challenge in her, although he had seen what had happened just a few seconds ago. But she wasn’t scared. Not now. She had to save Thorin! She had to be brave! For him.

The pale orc said something she couldn’t understand, but the threatening tone and the growling wargs coming to her made it pretty clear, that he wanted her dead. Okay, _now_ she was scared. Fidgeting with her sword, she tried to keep them at bay, but they were still closing in, forcing her back.

Then suddenly she heard battle cries and many of the dwarves came running towards the wargs, hitting them with hammers, swords and other weapons. Some unexpected help was always good. She gave a battle cry on her own, probably it was high-pitched and sounded ridiculous, and attacked the only warg remaining in front of her. It snapped at her and she had to jump back to escape him, but fell right onto another wargs snout. Frightened she looked up to see right into the pale orcs face. Then she was thrown back.

She hit the ground hard, groaning painfully. Did something just crack? She looked up to see the white warg crossing the ice spears which had formed when she had fallen. For such a big creature, it wasn’t a problem. A rough hand grabbed her throat and lifted her up. “What are you, little creature?” The grip tightened and Bellas only answer was choking noises. “How are you doing this?”

Carefully she opened her eyes a bit, only to see right into the pale orcs face. She sobbed as she felt the world turning black. Her legs were already dangling limply in the air, she felt her strength leaving her hands which gripped the metal form around her throat tightly.

He laughed. “Are you scared?”

Damn, yes! This wasn’t how she had planned to die! The world was fading and she was already sure, that this would be her last memory. Dying as a fool, who had failed to protect everyone, only minutes after she had promised to help them.

Then suddenly another cry was heard. This one didn’t come from anyone on the cliff. It sounded more like… birds? The ground felt even harder than before when she fell again.

She heard cries, growls and many huge eagles arriving. Though the hazy blur she could see them throwing the wargs and orcs off the cliff. Then one approached her. _Oh no… Please don’t!_ Before she could even try to avoid it, she was thrown over the cliff as well. She heard herself screaming, panicked and terrified. To her surprise she landed soft. Daring to open one eye she saw feathers underneath her and when she looked up, she realized that she was on the back of one of the giant eagles. Still the feathers under her bare skin froze, the eagle didn’t seem to mind.

Looking around she determined that everyone was on a eagles back and they were carried away from the cliff, away from the wargs and orcs.

Bella felt faint. They were safe. Everyone would be alright. _Thorin…_ was her last thought before she let the darkness come over her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, already thursday again... Have a new chapter :3  
> Just that you don't get confused, a tor's a large, free standing rock. Guess that's the best description for this thing, isn't it...? Thorin might be a litte OOC here, sorry for that...

She awoke to a soft underground and the warm sunshine on her back. For a second she thought she was at home. In her own warm bed. Then she felt the wind in her face and opened her eyes. For a second she was almost afraid when she saw the feathers underneath her and the long distance to the ground, but then her memories came back. Sighing Bella sat up and looked around with dazed eyes. How long had she been out? The sun was already high in the sky again, so at least a few hours. Rubbing over her aching ribcage she looked around. She was somewhere in the middle of the eagle group and quickly she recognized the dwarves on the other eagles. As far as her wounds allowed her she lifted her arm and waved to them. Some waved back, some didn’t notice her and some were probably still asleep. Bella didn’t care, she was just so relieved that everybody seemed to be fine.

But then she saw Thorin and for a moment she thought, she would fall unconscious again. He was in an eagle’s claw, body limp and unmoving.

“No…” She whispered to herself. _Please, please, be alright._ She couldn’t stand the thought of him dying, of losing him. For an awfully long time all she could do was sit there and pray for him. Then something caught her eye. They were heading for a large tor which was rising from the forest underneath them. Around them the mountains got smaller, they had almost crossed them. So from now on they had to continue walking. Again. She sighed, this flying was really comfortable. Pity it had to end…

When her eagle finally landed and she felt the cold under her feet again, she saw Gandalf only a few meters away from her, leaning over Thorin. They were talking and she thought she had heard her name. None of that mattered to her when she saw Thorin standing up. He was alright, the injuries weren’t that bad if he could stand on his own again.

She smiled slightly, but it dropped immediately when she saw Thorins gaze. He looked hard and unforgiving at her, like he was blaming her for his injuries, for the attack. Bella gulped and looked down, she couldn’t meet his gaze any longer. Her heart grew cold and the ice was spreading farther from where she was standing.

“You! What were you doing? You could’ve gotten yourself killed!” He struggled free from the supporting hands on his shoulders and walked towards her. “Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild?” He lowered his voice. “That you had no place among us?”

She stared down, feeling a desperate sob coming up her throat and the tears in the corners of her eyes. But then something happened, nobody had expected. Thorin took another few steps forward, carefully walking on the ice. “I’ve never been so wrong in all my life.” And he took the last step towards her and embraced her softly.

Immediately Bella wanted to back up, to push him back or just scream because of the sudden fear. If he touched her, she would hurt him! But then she felt the strong arms around her and her mind gave out.

Her heart started to beat faster, she buried her face in his coat, inhaled his scent, and suddenly her heart seemed to melt. It heat up, more and more until it felt like it was burning in her chest, filling her whole body with a warmth she had never known.

When Thorin pulled back, she would’ve given everything for the hug to last longer. He still held her by her shoulders as his eyes searched for injuries but softened when he found none serious.

His voice was merely a whisper when he said: “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

Bella smiled, her heart still beating fast and hot. “N-No… I… I would’ve doubted me too. I’m not a hero… or warrior… I’m just a burglar.” Finally she dared to look up and met Thorin’s soft and almost loving look.

For a second she thought that her legs would give in. Carefully she laid her hands on his forearms and smiled happily when nothing happened. Even the ice underneath her feet was gone again.

Thorin’s gaze lost itself in the distance and confused Bella followed it. There, far in the distance at the edge of the horizon was the shadow of a single mountain. “The lonely mountain.” She heard herself saying.

“…Our home.” Thorin breathed and smiled down to her. “We’ve crossed the mountains. Now the worst should be behind us.”

 

It was already dark when Bombur was finally finished with cooking dinner. Impatiently the dwarves crowded the kettle, finally wanting something to eat.

Meanwhile Bella sat a bit away from the fire, watching the company with a small smile as they pushed each other to be the first one to eat something. Since it was already growing dark while they still stood on the tor so they just decided to stay there over the night. The descent would’ve been too dangerous in the dark.

For the first time she could really smile, like a happy smile. She felt so light and relieved, _loved_. It was strange. Just a few weeks ago she thought that she would be forever damned, but right now she felt like she could really control it. Amazed she kept touching the bare stone in front of her, just to witness nothing.

Suddenly someone sat down beside her and a bowl with steaming soup was held in front of her. Surprised she looked up to meet Thorin’s eyes.

“Here, you should eat something.” He placed the bowl in front of her.

Carefully she picked it up. “Thanks.” She said quietly.

The dark haired dwarf just nodded and ate his own portion. Bella, too, ate in silence. Then she suddenly felt very courageous and asked: “What is it like?”

Thorin stopped to chew on the potatoes and looked to her. “Hm?”

Giggling she suddenly felt very stupid. “Erebor. What is it like?”

Slowly, very slowly, a slight smile came to his lips. He swallowed and sighed. “It’s been such a long time. I can’t remember much.”

“Then tell me what you remember?”

For a second she could’ve sworn he chuckled. “It’s gorgeous. Large halls carved out of the pure stone with perfection. Patterns out of ancient times everywhere and statues out of pure gold. Oh, you should see the mines. The gold glittering in the light of the torches. The jewels reflecting golden light everywhere and filling even the darkest caves with it. It’s the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see, I promise.”

She smiled. “You don’t have to promise. I believe you.”

“That’s good to hear.” Suddenly his voice was quiet again and he looked to her with soft eyes. For a moment none of them spoke, they just looked at each other and Bella could feel her face heating up.

“So, tell me. What’s your home like?” Thorin suddenly said and continued eating.

She tried to laugh, but it sounded like an unhealthy grunt. “Cold.”

“That doesn’t match what you’ve said earlier.”

“Yeah… because I’m alone now…” She hesitated, wondering why she told him this much.

“Then I suggest your parents are dead?”

She nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. They fell asleep together.” A soft smiled cracked through her lips. “Happy.”

“Weren’t they worried about you?”

“Of course they were. But they trusted me enough to be sure that I could handle it.”

“And could you?”

“…No.” She pulled up her knees and hugged them as memories came back. She had found them after a long winter’s night. Curled up into a blanket together they had laid, bodies cold and unmoving.

A warm hand touched her bare forearm and she flinched, but relaxed when nothing happened.

“It’s fine, it’s just me.” Thorin put the bowl aside and skittered nearer to her. “You should smile more.” He whispered.

Surprised she looked up. What did he mean? “Sorry?”

“I’m serious.” Carefully he raised a hand and caressed her cheek. “You… Nevermind.” He sighed and pulled his hand back.

“No. What is it?” She knew it was daring to ask Thorin such things, but she couldn’t stop herself.

For a few seconds he just looked to the fire, then reached inside his cloak and pulled out a small flower. “I don’t know much about you hobbits. To be honest, until a few weeks ago I knew nothing. But I figured that you appreciate flowers, so…” He put the flower carefully into her hair.

Bella blushed and looked down. That had been unexpected. “Thank you…” she whispered.

Suddenly she noticed that they were being watched by the other dwarves and her face heated up even more. Had they seen everything? Oh no… Please don’t…

They both sat in silence, both not daring enough to make another move. Finally Thorin stood up. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll have to continue walking.”

“…Yes.” With a low sigh Bella laid down and made herself comfortable, falling asleep soon with a small smile on her lips.

She didn’t notice that Thorin had been watching her.

 

The next day indeed was very exhausting. They stood up early, eating nothing but a small breakfast and then set off. It took them almost a full hour to climb down the tor, then they were walking a long time through the forest, led by Gandalf on a small, old path. Somewhen in the afternoon they heard a river and only a few minutes later they came across it. Immediately some dwarves left the line to run down to the river bed and refill their bottles. It didn’t take long until the first dwarf sat naked in the river. Almost everyone followed until only Thorin, Gandalf and Bella stood alone on the path. Why Bella didn’t join them… it was pretty self-explanatory since she was a female among a bunch of male dwarves. Thorin probably thought it wasn’t necessary, even though he knew that he probably smelled too. And Gandalf… no one knew how the hell he managed to clean himself up almost every day. Probably he was using some of his wizard tricks.

They waited patiently. After some time Bella sat down by a tree and closed her eyes. If it wasn’t for the rowdy yells from the dwarves she could almost imagine being at home. But somehow… it didn’t felt right. The light seemed dim and cold in her memories, everything felt unreal. Sighing she opened her eyes. Maybe she really was better off here. With this bunch of dwarves she’s felt more alive than ever.

She noticed a scrub of flowers. Carefully reaching out she caressed the fragile blossom. It felt amazing under her bare skin, so soft and yet strong. Before she couldn’t ever touch a flower with bare hands if she didn’t want them to freeze. A happy smile crossed her lips.

“Bella?”

She looked up and met Gandalf’s friendly face. “Yes?”

“Can I sit down?”

“Of course!” She skidded aside to make place for the wizard.

He set down next to her. “So, you finally learned to control it?”

“Looks like.”

“Well, can you use it?”

She blinked. She hadn’t thought about that. “I… I could use it when we fought against the wargs, but now… I’m not so sure about it.”

“Try it.”

“Try it?”

“Yes. Have you already forgotten the dragon?” He chuckled and lighted his pipe.

“Oh… yes, the dragon…” She kept her fists closed. To be honest, she was just scared to lose control once again if she used it.

“…There’s no need to be afraid.” He laid his hand on her fist.

“You can say that so easily…”

“Bella, I’ve known you since you first opened your eyes, I know how hard it is for you.”

Sighing she opened her fists a bit. “Please… just give me some more time.”

“There’s no need to hurry. Just start in time.”

She nodded. “I will.”

Gandalf stood up again and left without another word. No one ever would understand that wizard…

Just a few moments later Thorin sat down opposite of her. He cleared his throat. “How do you feel today?” He hadn’t talked to her all day.

She shrugged. “Good, I guess.”

“You know… What I said the day before yesterday-“

“It’s fine.” She smiled shyly.

“No it isn’t! I shouldn’t have said that. I’m really sorry.”

“You? Apologizing? That doesn’t really fit…”

“I know…” He sighed. For a second he thought about admitting his feelings, but then decided it was still too early. “The river’s got a turn right over there. Why don’t you get yourself washed up a bit?” He smiled slightly at her before he stood up and left, hitting himself in his mind. How stupid was he? That had been the perfect opportunity and he hadn’t seized it. A few steps away he turned around just to see Bella disappearing behind the hill that led to the river turn. He better didn’t bother her.


	11. Chapter 11

For two long days they walked through the woods, the path kept getting flatter and flatter until it was even again and they’d finally left the mountains behind them. But they’d also lost time. The orcs were still behind them, chasing them. Although they had a large advance they had to hurry. Wargs were fast and could run days without a break.

Much to the dismay of Bella. Since the second day from the tor on, her ribs hurt again. At first it had been nothing more than a light pulling in her chest, but now she could barely lie down anymore, even breathing became hard from time to time. No one had noticed yet, which she was glad about. Even after Thorin had apologized she sometimes still felt like a burden and didn’t want to cause any incidents. But after today she was close to ask Oin for help, the healer of the company. He had treated Thorin after all and he was as good as new again. The pain was almost unbearable now and every breath hurt. But her pride forbid it. _It’s nothing._ She kept telling herself.

It was close to nightfall this evening when they decided to stay near a small river. Bombur was cooking dinner again and the delicious smell soon filled the air and made everyone’s stomach growl.

Bella sat on the edge of the camp, leaning against a tree. It had become a habit that Thorin brought her the dinner and they ate together outside of the camp. Sometimes they talked a bit, sometimes they ate in silence. But Bella really enjoyed it. Thorin had this aura… it made her feel so safe and sound. And after a few days she had to admit it, she had madly fallen in love with this dwarf. But what was she after all? A simple hobbit, a freak with magic ice powers. Thorin was a king. She knew there was no hope for them.

Thorin sat down beside her and handed her the bowl. “Here.” His voice was gentle today, humming deep in his throat.

“Thanks.” She took it and carefully blew across the steaming surface. Whimpering slightly she immediately stopped. Even this hurt!

The dwarf stopped eating and watched her worried. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, ‘m fine.” She had to contain herself not to rub her aching ribs.

“Are you sure?” He put the bowl to the ground. “You’ve been falling behind lately.”

“Thorin, I-“

“Where does it hurt?”                                                       

“It’s fine!”

“No it isn’t! You’re hurt!”

“I said I’m fine!”

“Miss Baggins… please.” He talked low now, clearly not wanting a fight.

She sighed. “It’s probably just a bruised rib, nothing more.”

“I’ll get Oin.” He stood up and was away before she could stop him. Sighing she put down the bowl. Better just accepting her fate, she had neither the will nor the strength to argue with Thorin now. The dwarf was just as stubborn as she was.

Just a few moments later he returned with the grey haired dwarf, talking to him in their own language. Oin nodded, looking like he was thinking. He knelt down next to Bella. “Can I examine you here or do you wish a more… personal space?”

She was glad that he thought about that. By now many of the dwarves were staring over to them. “Personal space would be great.” She answered with a small smile.

“Alright. Thorin, help me get her down to the river bed.”

River bed was good, there they would be out of eyeshot of the others. As much as she liked and respected them. She didn’t like being watched like that.

Thorin nodded. “Sure.” Carefully he helped her up and supported her while walking.

“Thorin, I can walk on my own.” Bella felt her face heating up again. Close body contact was still something new to her.

“I don’t want to risk you getting even more hurt.”

She sighed but didn’t say another word until they found a good place by the river where Thorin placed Bella on a stone.

Oin washed his hands in the river. “Can you please take off your top and blouse?”

She hesitated. “…Do I have to?”

“It would be better.”

 _Great…_ It wasn’t that she was embarrassed about her body. In fact she was rather proud of it, her belly and hips were curvy and a bit chubby, perfect for a hobbit lady. But in the company of dwarves it made her a bit uncomfortable… Still she took them off, taking a sharp breath whenever her ribs hurt. Finally, with a little help of Thorin, she was able to take of her top and blouse.

Oin came back and dried his hands, then laid them carefully on her lower ribs, pressing a bit against them. When Bella showed no signs of pain he moved his hands higher, still keeping the light pressure and suddenly the hobbit hissed in pain and flinched.

“Oh dear…” Oins mien became worried.

“What is it?” Thorin asked immediately.

“Probably some broken ribs. No wonder after Azog threw her on the ground like that…”

Thorin couldn’t explain, but he felt responsible for this. If he just had paid more attention while fighting the orc, Bella wouldn’t have tried to protect him and ended up like this.

“But don’t worry, there’s no internal bleeding and her lungs seem to be fine too. A plain bandage to stabilize her ribs should do it until we’re in a safe place.”

“But I can barely run. How are we supposed to keep our advantage from the wargs?”

“You’ll have to try.” Thorin said as her ribs were wrapped up into an almost white bandage. “And if it hurts too much, I can carry you.”

She blushed. “N-No… you don’t have to do that.”

“You said it yourself. In this condition you can’t run. So I’ll have to carry you if we want to keep our advantage.”

“But-“

“No ‘buts’.” The way he looked at her made her want to shrink and disappear into the earth.

“Yes…” She looked down and didn’t even try to protest when Oin was done with the bandage and Thorin carefully helped her back into her clothes. He was just lacing her top loosely, not wanting to put more pressure on her ribs than necessary, when suddenly Gandalf appeared.

“Here you are. I’ve been searching for you. Thorin-“ He stopped dead in his tracks and sighed. “What’s wrong now?”

“Our burglar’s hurt. We need a safe place to stay for a few days. She cannot travel in this condition.” Thorin walked up to him, talking so quiet that Bella had difficulty to hear him.

Gandalf sighed. “Belladonna, my lad… Coming right after your mother, aren’t you? Always getting in trouble.”

She shrugged helplessly. “Runs within the family.”

 

Thorin had kept his word. For the first few hours after the break he let her walk on her own, but as soon as she started to fall behind or they had to run over a clearing in the forest, he carried her. Sometimes he just picked her up wordless, sometimes he knelt down before her and ordered her to sit on his back, his arms always holding her safe and strong.

Of course she had been embarrassed at first, being carried by him she felt more like a burden than ever before and this amazing scent couldn’t be healthy in the long run. Anyways when it was late afternoon, almost evening and the sun sunk to the far horizon, painting the sky golden and red, she fell asleep on his back. Later she had blamed it on the exhaustion from the long days of running, but right now the gentle rocking of the dwarfs heavy steps and his enchanting scent send her right into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 

She woke up when it suddenly got cold. Scared she opened her eyes and prepared herself for a fight, but it was Thorins gentle face she looked into. He looked worried but smiled slightly when he noticed her open eyes.

“Hey.” He said softly.

“Where are we?” Her voice was drowsy and quiet, but Thorin was close enough to hear her. He was _too_ close. Bella couldn’t decide if she should enjoy this or not…

“Safe. Gandalf’s led us to a house. How are you feeling?”

She shivered. “Cold…” She was too cold and tired to think about what she was saying. And she was lying in a bed. An actual, soft bed.

“Could have guessed that…” He chuckled. “Oin’s put some cream on your ribs and given you medicine.”

Her brain managed to work out that she basically was drugged from some painkiller potions. Great… She looked around in the room. It was high, even for humans it would be high, cool night air came through high windows and she believed to see one or two stars. It was pretty dark in the room so she couldn’t see anything else except Thorin sitting on the edge of the way too big bed and carefully caressing her hair. In the dim, orange light of the lantern which hung by the bed he looked gorgeous. Like, totally gorgeous. The grey strands in his hair shone like silver in deep black rocks and his eyes… His eyes gleamed in this breathtaking blue. Like the lake in front of her house at sunset… Yeah, she was drugged.

Suddenly she became very tired and closed her eyes. Just for a few seconds… Before she noticed she was asleep again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still on time! It's still thursday here! 
> 
> Attention, informations not considering the fanfic ahead! I don't know if any of you have read it in the comments already, but if you're feeling down or anything, please feel free to write to me, I just want you to be happy .-. Of course if you won't because I'm some weird person from the internet I'm not gonna be miffed about it. But... just don't be sad, alright? Because if you're sad, then I'm sad and I don't want anyone to be sad... *group hug*

Bella awoke from a cold hand on her forehead. Groaning she opened her eyes a little bit but had to close them again because of the bright light. Was it already day again?

The hand left her forehead. “Seems like the fever’s breaking.”

A relieved sigh from the other end of the room. “Finally…”

She recognized the voices of the two youngest company members. Opening her mouth she tried to call for them, but all she managed was another groan. Damn… the last time she’d felt so weak was when she had been sick with the flu as a child.

“…Bella?” Kili bend over her. “Can you hear me?” he asked quietly.

With great afford she managed to open her eyes again. Weakly she smiled at the young dwarf.

“Bella!” his eyes lit up and he smiled. “How are you feeling?”

Again she parted her lips to try to answer him, but now she was cut off by a dry cough. Immediately Fili jumped and ran to get a glass of water for her while Kili helped her to sit up and carefully patted her back. Just a few seconds afterwards a cup was put on her lips and she felt the welcoming wet pouring down her throat. She felt far better now.

As soon as the cup was gone she took a deep breath. Her lungs didn’t hurt anymore. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

Kili still held her. He smirked slightly. “Now we can try it again, shall we?”

“Sometimes I wish I could punch you…” Bella whispered. Her voice wouldn’t allow anything louder.

Fili sat down on the bed too. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” She answered honestly.

“Does anything still hurt?”

“I… I have a bit headache.”

“That’s the fever. How about your ribs?”

“Don’t hurt at all.”

“That’s good. I’m gonna get Oin. Bella, do you need anything?” Fili stood up.

“Actually… I’m starving.”

The blonde prince laughed. “Alright. I’ll look what I can do.”

 

Later she sat outside with Bofur and Oin by her side and a plate with fresh bread, cheese, ham and honey. She hadn’t had a meal like that in weeks! Of course, Bombur was able to make delicious stews out of probably anything, but freshly baked bread… She’d never thought she’d cherish something like that.

All the other dwarves had already paid her a visit. Except Thorin… According to Balin he was with the house’s owner and Gandalf. After all they had to find a way to cross Mirkwood now. It was a giant forest, now only a few miles ahead of them and ruled by elves.

Sighing Bella placed down the bread and looked over the breathtaking meadow. In the close distance she could see the mountains, all around them was a huge, golden-green field and a forest nearby. She could hear a ditch somewhere hidden in the high grass which reached up to her waist.

Bofur looked at her. “Are you aright?”

“Yeah…” She rubbed her eyes. “Still not really awake I guess.” She smiled slightly. After all she’d slept almost two days in a row, only waking up now and then to mutter something unclear and falling asleep again. She didn’t remember any of it.

The dwarf smiled. “Don’t strain yourself if you don’t feel like it. It won’t help anyone.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, mother.” Bashed ribs weren’t fun…

 

In the afternoon Fili and Kili had persuaded her to go on a walk with them. Alleged they’d found a pound nearby. Now she walked through the wide field, on either side a dwarf which carefully supported her and helped her walk. From time to time the grass was so high she feared she could get lost in here, but the princes didn’t left her side and only half an hour later they suddenly stood at the edge of a surprisingly clean pound.

“Wow… how did you find that?” Bella looked into the clear water. It couldn’t be very deep and it was pretty manageable.

“Strolling around.” Fili shrugged.

“And why did you bring me here?” She raised her eyebrows. There was no way the young dwarves had brought her here just to show her a pound. Even though it was a nice pound.

“Well…” Kili scratched the back of his head and smiled innocently. “Can you freeze it?”

“What?”

“Please?” They begged, making the best puppy eyes they could manage.

Bella sighed. “Why?”

“Because that’d be awesome!”

Not for the first time she wondered how their mother had survived these two. “I can try it, alright?”

They cheered and hugged her. “Thanks!”

She carefully knelt down and laid her hand on the water’s surface. Not a second later the ice started spreading and soon covered the whole pound, sparkling softly in the afternoon light. Before she had the chance to stand up again, Fili and Kili were already on the ice, carefully taking one step after another, trying not to slip. But the ice was so skid, they weren’t even in the middle yet when Kili fell, helplessly flailing his arms around. Pity the nearest thing to hold on was Fili’s jacket and suddenly both of them lay on the ground.

Bella couldn’t stop herself, she starting laughing loudly. This had looked too hilarious.

 

It didn’t take long until the rest of the company had discovered the iced lake too and only an hour later it was covered in dwarves, trying to keep their balance but failing terrific.

Meanwhile Bella felt already tears in the corners of her eyes from laughing all the times and her stomach started to hurt. And her ribs. But she didn’t care. She hadn’t laughed like this in… forever!

Just the sign of grumpy Dwalin and Gloin trying to stand up but always falling down again, Oin, Dori and Balin sitting at the edge and keeping Bombur off the ice since they feared it would break under him, Bifur crawling on all forth and being afraid of the cold and the rest basically just sliding around, on all forth, sitting or actually standing, and always falling, was godly.

And all of sudden she forgot her injuries and stood up, desperately wanting to join the others. Carefully she put her foot on the ice and giggled like a little girl when she felt the cold and slippery. Another step forward, she had already troubles keeping her balance. Another step forward and she regretted it when she suddenly lost foothold and already felt herself falling on the ice. But then something grabbed her arms and pulled her back. Still she fell, soft.

Slowly the hobbit dared to open her eyes and immediately turned red when she saw Thorins face only inches in front of hers.

“I-I’m- I’m so sorry!” she stuttered and hurried to stand up, but Thorin still held her tightly.

“You should be more careful with your wounds Miss Baggins.” He said and sat up.

She felt his hands traveling down her arms until he carefully held her hands and somehow she ended up sitting in his lap.

Clearing her throat she tried once more to sit up, but still the dwarf held her hands and kept her down.

“Thorin… you can let go of me now.” She tried again.

He didn’t react for a few seconds, kept staring at her, mouth slightly open. Bella had to look down to hide her enormous blush.

“Thorin…” Now she tugged and tried to free herself.

“Yes! Sorry…” Immediately he let go of her hands and looked away.

As quick as she could Bella stood up. Thorin followed her example.

“I see you’re feeling better?” A soft, relieved smiled appeared on his usual stern face.

“Far better, yes.” Smiling she looked to the company which still amused themselves on the lake.

“Let me guess. It was my nephew’s idea?”

“Yes.” Now she even laughed. “They dragged me here and practically begged on their knees.”

“Shouldn’t have expected something else… Gandalf sent me, he wanted to speak with you.”

“Oh, did he? Then I’ll better go to him.”

“I’ll take you there.” He already bent down to pick her up again.

“No! I can perfectly walk on my own.”

“I’m just trying to help.” Did he just sound a bit desperate?

“It’s fine. Really.”

“Then at least let me accompany you back.”

“…Sure.” Bella smiled and started walking back. What was wrong with Thorin? He behaved strange…

 

When they reached the house Gandalf was already sitting by the table. Beside a large man. Not the ‘large’ Bella had thought of when the dwarves had told her about Beorn, apparently a skin-changer and owner of the house they were using as shelter so shamelessly. He was really large. And he was sitting right now.

When he spotted her, he jumped up and almost ran to her. “Little bunny!”

Bella had almost screamed and tried to run away. He was at least three times her height and could easily overlook a hobbit her size. But he knelt down before her and stroked her hair. His hands were bigger than her face, but they were incredibly light and careful. “You look far better today.”

She remembered how the dwarves had told her that Beorn had probably just given them shelter because of her. As soon as he had seen the ‘poor, little thing’ on Thorins back, he had taken her to the bedroom and even allowed Oin to use his medicine.

Smiling she nodded. “I’m also feeling much better.”

“Bella, come here.” Gandalf smiled too, his old face looking almost carefree for a second. The hobbit made her way to the chair next to Gandalf and Beorn helped her climbing up.

Thorin stayed where he was, watching the skin-changer with wakeful eyes. If he dared to try anything on Bella he wouldn’t hesitate a second. She was already hurt and they had to leave in the morning. He wouldn’t risk her wounds getting worse. Even though it was only bashed rib, he could tell that every movement she made still hurt, she just didn’t show. He sighed and leaned against the wall. She was so brave, his heart swell with pride and he didn’t know why. Never had he thought that this hobbit, this small and fragile creature, would save his life. Would save everyone’s life. His gaze wandered from the skin-changer to Bella. She listened to Gandalf, nodding a few times. Her eyes were wide open, the soft evening light making them shine. From time to time she smiled and it was the most beautiful thing Thorin had ever seen. One time she even laughed, throwing her head back a bit and her beautiful curls falling over her shoulders and back. The dwarf couldn’t help but wish to braid the most beautiful braids into it. Nothing less worthy than for a queen. Because a queen she was for him. As soon as they would reach Erebor, as soon as he reconquered what was rightfully his, he would ask her to stay. Forever. Because with each day the thought of her leaving became more and more unbearable.

 

When night had already fallen and they had eaten a delicious dinner, the dwarves once more lay down in the hay and soon fell asleep. Beorn had wanted to bring Bella back into the bedroom, but she had insisted to sleep with the company. She didn’t want to be treated special, even though she would miss the bed, and even less wanted to occupy the bedroom.

So a few hours after nightfall most of the company slept. Except Bella. She just couldn’t fall asleep, no matter what she tried. The pain of her ribs weren’t much of a bother, much more like a pair of beautiful blue eyes… Sighing she sat up. This was ridiculous! How she wished she could blame the tea Oin had given her before they’d went to sleep.

“Can’t sleep?” The voice came from right next to her and she almost sent ice slivers in the direction but then recognized the voice.

“Don’t scare me like that.”

Thorin chuckled quietly and sat up too.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

In the dim light she could see him shaking his head. “I can’t sleep too… Do your ribs hurt?”

“Huh? Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

“Last time you said ‘it’s nothing’ you had bashed ribs.”

“I’m serious.”

“Well then…”

Bella sat quiet. She knew she needed to sleep, tomorrow they would leave, if she was rested or not.

“I was worried, you know?” Thorin said quietly.

“What?” Why did he say something like that? He had behaved strange all day now and she somehow started to become scared of his behavior.

“You were asleep for almost two days and had fever.”

She shrugged and looked down. His tone said that he really must’ve been worried. “I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Then why-“

Suddenly his hands touched her cheeks and she felt his hot breath. Immediately her heart started beating faster.

“T-Thorin…” Her voice wasn’t louder than a whisper. “What are you…”

“Sh….” He made and she heard the hay rustling, he was coming nearer. One hand left her cheek and she felt it returning to her hip where it caressed her curves loving.

Bella didn’t quite get what was happening; all she knew was that she enjoyed it. As Thorin dared to slip his hand under her blouse a low moan escaped her mouth and she leaned into the soft touch.

Thorin almost lost his mind. His body, he himself, wanted more, so much more. Just the soft skin under his fingertips was almost too much, but as the hobbit moaned quietly, he couldn’t stop himself anymore. He carefully pushed her down onto the blankets and occupied her lips with his.

Her mind stopped working the second she felt rough lips carefully touching hers. It was amazing and sent little sparks flying everywhere in her body. Large hands traveled down her body, caressing every curve and finding their way under her blouse again. Again she moaned, with more pleasure than before. But when she felt Thorin being very daring and starting to pull the fabric up, she grabbed his hands. Yes, he had seen her without it and he had already helped her out of it, but it had been with another context. “T-Thorin…” Bella trembled.

Immediately he pulled his hands back. “I’m sorry…” he whispered.

“N-No… I-“

“I’ve gone too far. I’m sorry.” He said, his voice regretting.

Bella sat still, not quite knowing what to do now. This was new to her. She had never interacted with a man in such a way, not even speaking of _kissing_.

“Thorin?” she asked quietly.

“Yes?” He still sat there, only a few inches in front of her.

In the darkness she reached out and met his face, he chuckled when her hands caressed his beard. Hesitating she drew nearer until she felt his breath again, then she laid her own lips on his.

This time the kiss was soft, innocent and loving. Neither had to say something when they ended up lying together under one blanket, sleeping like spoons, arms wrapped around each other, foreheads slightly touching and a soft smile on their lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the edit but I forgot to mention that I'll be on a short holiday from wednesday on with no chance to upload a new chapter so... See you on monday! :3


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed me yet? ;D

The next day began awkwardly.

Or how else should it be when you woke only inches to the face of your crush and twelve dwarves staring at you with a wide grin and exchanging small bags of money? Bella felt her blood shooting into her face and her eyes went wide. Quickly she scrambled back and had to bear down her instinct to start screaming. What the hell happened last night?!

“Bella, Bella, calm down.” She hadn’t noticed Balin coming to her side, nor had she realized that she’d started hyperventilating. The temperature sank noticeable and one could almost see the breath in the air.

Looking down she forced herself to breathe calmly, one hand over her frantic beating heart and trying to organize her thoughts as her memories returned. Rough but gentle lips against hers, large hands on her bare skin and the comfortable warmth of a body. She’d _kissed_ him. She’d kissed _Thorin._ And he’d _touched_ her. She thought this had been a dream!

“Bella! Calm down! Breathe, breathe…” Another hand touched her shoulder, gentle holding it.

“What have you done now?!” She recognized the wizards furious voice immediately. Nobody wanted Gandalf as their enemy when he got angry. And according to his tone he was very angry right now.

The dwarves stepped out of his way when he hurried to the shaking hobbit. He knelt down before her, carefully placing his hands on her cheeks and lifting her head. “Belladonna, look at me.” There were tears on her face and he wiped them away. “Now breath. Easy, easy my lass. See, that’s better.” His voice was low now, almost chanting and Bella felt her body relaxing, the warmth slowly returning to the room.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered as soon as she had calmed down again.

“Now, what happened?”

“I- I…” She looked up but quickly stared to the ground again when she saw Thorin standing among the dwarves. Her hands started shaking again. She didn’t know why her body reacted like that. She had enjoyed it, she really had, but somehow the thought of a man touching her scared her now. And she felt guilty, Thorin had only meant the best, careful and soft, and now here she sat, crying like he’d tried to rape her!

But Gandalf understood, he sent the dwarves out with a single, warning look and as soon as they were alone, he sat down beside her. “Now, do you want to tell me?”

“I- It’s not what you might think… I… I don’t know why I reacted like that.”

“Well I see that you’re still dressed, so I reasoned something like that. Not to mention that we all slept in the same room.” He smirked.

Bella wiped her tears away. “He must hate me now…”

“Now, now, I highly doubt that. Talk to him and everything will settle again.”

“I… I can try.”

“No. You won’t _try._ You’ll do it. Right now.” He placed his hand on her back and pushed a bit.

To her own surprise she laughed quietly. “Alright, alright.”

“See, that’s far better.” The wizard stood up and helped her to her feet and together they entered the dining room where the company already was halfway through their breakfast.

Carefully Bella approached the uncrowned king. “…Thorin?”

He turned around. “Yes?”

She gulped and looked down. “Could I… talk to you for a minute? Alone?”

Not hesitating for a second he nodded. “Of course.”

They walked back into the room they’d slept and Thorin closed the door to give them some privacy.

“Listen, I… I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean to… to react like that. It was just that I… I-“

He silently took her hands and pressed his lips against her palms. “Don’t apologize. But if you’re too ashamed for an open courting, then I’m afraid we can’t go on.” With that he let go of her hands and returned to the company.

Bella kept standing there, her hands turning cold, the warmth in her heart gone and the air temperature around her constantly dropping. A single tear dropped out of her eye and froze before it could even reach her chin.

 

Beorn had offered her to stay for some more time as he’d seen the hobbit walking at the end of the line, face sad and facing the ground. But she’d just thanked him quietly and got on the pony’s back, riding off with the company.

It was a beautiful morning, the air was fresh and clean, the wide fields shining in the sunrise, but Bella kept her eyes focused on the ground. What could all this beauty mean to her when Thorin had officially rejected her?

Somewhen in the late morning another pony walked with hers and she dared to look up. Ori smiled at her, probably it should be encouraging. “Are you alright?”

She shrugged. “I can’t hold it back anymore…” The reins were already halfway frozen, luckily the pony didn’t mind. The last thing she needed now was it bolting and throwing her to the ground.

“Chin up! I’m sure it’ll get better. It always got better, didn’t it?”

“Not this time.” She shook her head and sighed.

“…You wanna tell me what happened?” he asked softly now and Bella managed to crack a little smile. Ori was by far the cutest, always with his diary and slingshot. And he was the easiest to talk to.

Still Bella shook her head. “It’s fine.”

“You can always come to me if you change your mind.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

The young dwarf returned the nod and smiled. For the rest of the day he didn’t leave her side, always riding beside her. He only meant well, she knew, and she was glad because if she rode alone now, she would feel even worse.

Over never-ending fields and small rivers they rode, without any breaks until the night fell. They let the ponies rest and only ate a small dinner. Thorin had decided that they would be careful with their food now since they’d reach Mirkwood tomorrow. Bella couldn’t swallow a single piece, no matter how hard she tried. In the end she gave the food to Bombur back, for once he wasn’t grateful for an refill, he asked if she was alright, offered her to sit with him for a while. But she refused and laid down on her bedroll a little outside the camp. Back facing the company she made sure nobody saw her tears.

 

The next day came too early for everyone’s liking. Especially for Thorin. He just slept for one or two hours, the guilt keeping him awake. Bella hadn’t slept much either, he had seen her tossing and turning around all night, sometimes sitting up and running her hands over the tearstained face. Several times he had wanted to stand up and walk over to her, simply taking her in her arms and comforting her, whispering every apology his mother had ever taught him. But every time his mind had reminded him. She was too afraid, too embarrassed, too whatever, to court in public.

And among dwarfs this was one of the most important things. Not being ashamed. Apparently she was, so it had no sense to try it again until the hobbit got over that.

He rubbed his eyes and sighed. In one or two hours they would reach the kingdom of Thranduil. Oh, how he wished they could just go around this damned forest, but this would cost much time. Too much time, Durins Day would be over by the time they’d reach the top of the forest and could head over the northern meadows.

They ate breakfast in silence. After yesterday had started in such a glee today the mood was almost depressing. Mostly because of two very specific people. Still nobody said anything, so they packed their stuff and rode off in silence.

In just a little more than an hour they reached the forest which they’d seen since the early morning. The trees were tall, but unlike the ones in the smaller woods they’d passed, they looked unhealthy, bending down under an invisible weigh, the bark grey and chapped. The ponies refused to carry the company any further as if something scared them. Bella felt it too, a dark and ominous presence came out of the deeps of the forest. Gulping she dismounted and took her backpack off the pony.

Gandalf already stood between the snow white wood of two branches, forming something like a gate to the old stone path, leading deep into the forest. Suddenly he turned around and called: “Send the ponies loose. Let them return to their master.”

Everybody sighed and jumped back to the ground, taking their own luggage of the small horses.

“Is there no way around?” The hobbit asked carefully. She really didn’t want to go into that forest.

“Not unless we go 200 hundred miles north. Or twice that distance south.” Gandalf took a few steps on the path, then suddenly turned around and hurried back to them. “Let my horse! I need it!”

“You… You’re not leaving us, are you?” Bella asked frightened. Damn this wizard, why did he always leave in times like this?

“I would not do this if I didn’t have to.”

“Why do you have to?”

“I’ve got my reasons.” With that he sat down into the saddle again. “Don’t leave the path, no matter what. This forest is wicked. Once you leave it, you’ll never find it again.” And off he was, riding north.

“You heard him. Don’t lose time if it isn’t necessary.” Thorin said after a short silence, stepping onto the path. He threw a quick look at Bella, before he started walking, a line of dwarves forming behind him.

 

On the first day everything was still fine. They walked until they had to rest, sitting down on the path and eating some bread and drinking some water until they were rested enough to keep walking. When night fell they rolled out their blankets and slept, not daring to leave the path.

So it kept going the next day.

The third day the first ones dared to leave the path from time to time to refill their bottles or collect firewood. But they always found their way back.

The fourth day the sunlight faded under the leaves and everyone’s mind clouded. Some started to stray away from the path and it was exhausting to keep them at bay.

On the fifth day they started to lose the path from time to time, but somehow found it every time again. That was also when the rations grew short and desperation started to spread.

 

“This looks quite familiar, doesn’t it?” Bofur stood in front of a pile of stones which he had built himself just a few hours ago.

“You’re right…” Nori stopped beside him and stared at the three stones placed on top of each other.

“There must be other dwarves here!” Gloin shouted and wanted to run away from the group, but Bifur held his arm and talked quietly to him. The handicapped dwarf was surprisingly the one with the clearest head right now. Maybe the chant of the forest caused exactly the opposite on him…

Bella walked past them without even looking at them. She had her gaze lowered, concentrated on the barely visible path to her feet. No clue if the ice was real or she was just hallucinating again. Often enough she had thought to see Thorin by her side in the night.

Suddenly she stopped. “The path!” She called. “Where’s the path?” It was gone! Just gone! It had been there just a second ago! She turned around, but there was nothing. “It’s gone! It’s gone!” She heard herself cry and suddenly she sat on the ground, hands pressed on her eyes and sobbing. It was cold, so cold. Wrapping her arms around her small body Bella looked up. Wait… snow? Was it snowing?! With shaking knees she stood up. “Guys…?”

There was no response and she turned around again. No sign of the company. “Guys?” She called out loud now. Still nobody answered. Panic grew within her. She had lost them! She was all alone in this forest now.

Disorientated she just started walking in one direction. “Thorin! Bofur! Ori!” Every single name she called multiple times but there never was an answer.

 

Hours passed, maybe even days, Bella couldn’t tell anymore. She strayed around in the ever dark forest, calling for the company and starting to get desperate. From time to time breathing got difficult, sometimes her vision started spinning. Since a few hours she imagined to see frozen sculptures in the distance, but chose to ignore it. Her very first goal was to find the company again. …Weren’t those flowers? She knelt down but suddenly fell over and landed head first in the dirty leaves. Too tired to stand up again she lied there for a few minutes until she decided that she should get up again. But she was so tired… and her ribs hurt again… she had no chance to find the others anyway… maybe just accepting her fate would be great…

A sound behind her made her jump to her feet and unsheathe her sword. Surprised at her own reaction she looked into the dark forest. Had she just imagined again? No, there had been a sound.

“Thorin?” she called out carefully. No answer… of course, what else had she expected?

Then suddenly something jumped on her and she yelped as she jumped back as a giant spider approached her. That really was the last thing she needed right now. It was at least as big as her and twice as wide as her full height. Snarling it made another attack, but was hit by a large ice ball. Bella saw her chance while it was confused and attacked with her sword. The fog of her mind lifted with every strike she took against the spider and suddenly it collapsed dead. Had she really hit it on a soft spot? Apparently yes…

Bella looked around and spotted the spider webs all around her. Had they been here all along? Just great… No more spiders, please. Still she carried on and finally found herself in a dead end, surrounded by the clingy webs. How did she ended up here anyway? She didn't remember walking right into the spider webs… She climbed up a tree nearby in the hope to escape the spider nest. But the higher she got, the thicker the webs got and soon she had to cut her way through. Somehow the idea of simply climbing down again didn’t even form in her mind. Suddenly she saw something hanging nearby.

It looked like a cocoon made out of spider webs. She squinted her eyes and figured there was somebody inside. Those spiders actually caught somebody… Looking around she found thirteen of those cocoons. Wait… thirteen? The company!

The fog lifted a bit again and she knew at least that she had to free them. Carefully she balanced on the thick webs and made her way to the first cocoon and cut it from the web. It fell down, but landed soft on other webs. Immediately the dwarf inside started to struggle and slowly freed himself. Bella walked over to the next one and cut it free. One after one fell down and soon the dwarves were all out of their gluey prison.

Bella already wanted to sigh relieved and call for them, when suddenly something sharp and cold entered her shoulder, spider’s teeth. Immediately she felt the poison running through her veins and merely seconds after she collapsed like a puppet which strings had been cut.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, it's thursday again!  
> ...I need to write the next chapter! D:

Thorin couldn’t really tell anymore what exactly had happened after they noticed that their burglar was missing, but he was pretty sure that it hadn’t been him who had started to run around and calling for her desperately. After that everything went over into a blur and suddenly he found himself lying on the forest ground, covered in spider webs. Growling he struggled until he somehow managed to get his hands free and cut the webs open with a small knife hidden on his belt. Standing up he noticed the other company members around him, some already freed from the strange cocoons, others still struggling.

Immediately he helped them and soon the whole company was standing upright again. Their burglar was still missing and nowhere to be found in the spider webs. Thorin stumbled forwards, his mind still foggy. He knew they had to get out of here. As soon as possible. But only a few minutes after they thought they had escaped the spiders, they attacked again.

All of sudden someone started screaming and unsheathed his sword, loud hisses followed. Seconds after they were surrounded by the giant spiders once again. Thorin cursed under his breath and did his best to defend himself and the company. But the mist in his mind didn’t allow him any clear thoughts and within another few seconds he already saw himself ending as spider food. Not really what one was expecting from a king. He cut his way free, striking dead every spider, but it was no use. With each slain, three more replaced it.

A really large spider approached Thorin and he swung his sword, ready to bury it in the creature’s skull. But before it could cross the distance to this prey something else slid through its little brain and caused it to collapse. Thorin immediately recognized the elvish arrow. Good news that they were rescued from the spiders now, bad news that they would probably get captures by the elves now.

Only a few minutes after the first spider had fallen all of them were gone and the company was encircled by elves with their arrows pointing at them.

“Search them!” somebody said and immediately every weapon hidden in their clothes was taken. Some still tried to fight back, but mostly they just stood there silently. The fog still too heavy on their minds and knowing resistance was useless. Even Fili’s various daggers hidden everywhere they found.

The blond elf in front of Thorin eyed his sword suspiciously. He talked in his own language, then pointed with the point at him. “Where did you get that?”

“It was given to me.” Thorin answered automatically. It wasn’t even a lie.

The elf snorted. “Not only a thief but a liar as well.” He pushed the king back and called something in his mother tongue.

The other elves started pushing the dwarves too, leading them forward until they gave up every try to escape and simply walked with them. Bofur was the last one daring to say something: “Where’s Bella?”

 

Soon the elves with their captives were out of sight, leaving just two elves standing alone between the trees.

The first one, a female with very long reddish hair stared into the forest. The second one, male with shorter, blonde hair stood beside her.

“What is it, Tauriel?” The male asked.

“There was one missing.” Tauriel answered, still staring into the dark of the forest.

“How do you know?”

“One told me, another one just called out for someone named ‘Bella’. So I assumed there is one missing.” Finally she turned around and looked at him.

“So what?”

“So what? Legolas, there’s a female lost in our forest, probably starving and wounded and desperate. We cannot ignore that.”

“A dwarf trespassing doesn’t deserve any better. Even if it is a female.”

“You are unbelievable!” frustrated Tauriel picked up her bow and made her way deeper into the thicket.

“What are you doing?” Legolas followed her a few steps.

She turned around. “Searching for that Bella.”

“More spiders will come.”

“That’s why our ancestors invented weapons.” With that she disappeared into the bushes.

Legolas stood there for a brief moment, then sighed and followed her.

For at least two hours they walked through the forest which they knew to their very heart and hadn’t met a single creature since then. It would be creepy, the silence, the lifelessness of the forest, if you were a stranger. But to the two elves it was normal, they were used to everything in their kingdom.

“I highly doubt that we’ll find anything living here.” Legolas muttered and sighed quietly. If it had been someone else he would already have returned to the halls of his father, he just did this for Tauriel.

“Can’t you keep quiet for a few minutes?”

“Can’t we just retur-” He suddenly stopped dead and concentrated on his hearings. “There’s someone.”

Immediately Tauriel followed him and couldn’t ignore the dropping of the temperature. And she couldn’t help but to gasp a little at the sight that was revealed when they rounded a tall tree.

On the ground lay a little creature, short but too fragile and soft to be a dwarf, almost white hair lay outspread on the ground and her scratched face. Her clothes were torn and dirty, scabs on her bare feet and hands. And this small thing lay on ice. Literally, there was ice on the ground, growing up into icicles like a protective barrier for the creature.

The elves exchanged a quick look before Legolas carefully stepped over the icicles and knelt down. “It’s still alive. …But it’s hurt.” The blond elf gently picked her up.

Tauriel smirked a little. “What happened to ‘what this miserable creature deserves’?”

He shot her a warning glance. “Come on now, it’s getting late. We should be back before dark.”

 

Thorin hadn’t mind the way they had been led. He had his gaze kept lifted the whole time, desperately hoping to find Bella somewhere in the surrounding forest. From time to time he had tried to run back, but the elves kept him inside the line. It was no use, their burglar was lost…

He felt like he was going to faint. He’d lost Bella, the spiders were probably feasting on her like some dead animal. The merely thought of her tiny body being torn apart by those creatures made him want to throw up. But somehow he kept going and suddenly found himself separated from the company.

“Where are the others?” He asked. Maybe it was the fatigue, maybe the rest of the spider poison or maybe his great worry for Bella, but he didn’t really care when no one gave him an answer.

Two guards walked behind him, leading him on the wooden path, ever higher until he managed to figure out where he was going. The throne room. Thranduil. Thorin growled and wanted to stop, but the guards kept pushing him forwards. And suddenly he stood before the throne, already feeling those cold eyes on him. Slowly he lifted his gaze and immediately wanted to punch something or someone. How he wished he would have never ever needed to see this face again.

Slowly the elvenking lifted from his seat and walked down the small stairs. His eyes held nothing but malicious joy and disgust. He said nothing, but kept his eyes fixed on the dwarf. The silence was tense, something back-breaking was in the air. Like seconds before the first lightning of a heavy thunderstorm.

Then suddenly Thranduil started to speak. “Thorin.” His voice echoing slightly. “Son of Thrain, son of Thror.”

“Thranduil.” Was all that Thorin answered.

With slow steps the elf started surrounding him. “I’ve heard you tried to trespass my dominion. You’re travelling east. Back to your mountain, I suppose?”

“What is it of your business where I am going?”

“With a company of twelve dwarves.” Thranduil continued determined. “Are you really thinking that this is enough to reclaim your homeland?” He stopped behind him, a long silence followed.

Thorin kept his face lowered but his eyes were wakeful. He could answer, but he wouldn’t. This elf was a traitor, he didn’t deserve to know anything about his quest. Why would he care? He’d abandoned him. Him and his people.

“You’re missing one member of your company, aren’t you?”

The dwarfs head shot up. His heart started beating faster with hope. If they knew about Bella, she probably was still alive.

Thranduil chuckled. “A Halfling. On a quest with thirteen dwarves, with their leader leading them right into their death, blinded by his greed. A female one besides.”

Thorin felt the rage building up in him. How dared he to talk in such a way about Bella!

The blond elf bowed down next to him and whispered: “What is such a creature doing in your company?”

Before anyone could react Thorin had his fist smashed into Thranduil’s face. “Don’t you dare talking about her like that!” he snapped.

The guards stepped in immediately, grapping Thorin by his shoulders and holding him back. But Thranduil just smiled, ignoring the small trail of blood, trickling down from his nose.

“She’s dear to you, isn’t she? Poor little thing. My son found her in the forest, injured and all alone. I’d almost say you… abandoned her.”

“We were separated!” Thorin jerked and tried to break free.

“She was attacked by spiders, fell down to the ground and broke some bones. Probably she would have ended up as spider food.”

“Where is she?”

“None of your business.”

“I want to see her!”

Thranduil chuckled. “You’re not in the position to make demands. Now, let’s talk about your quest again, shall we?”

“What have you done to her?” Now Thorin really got furious, but the guards still held him tightly.

He ignored his questions and started strolling around again. “You want the arkenstone back, don’t you? The kings jewel. Your right to rule under that mountain.”

“What have you done to her, you dirty elf?!” Thorin roared, still trying to break free.

Thranduil stopped, looked into the distance then sighed. “I was going to make you an offer. But if you refuse my hospitality, then I’m afraid I have no choice but to repay your disrespect. Stay if you wish and rot!” With a wave of his hand the guards gripped Thorin even harder and dragged him back. Back over the paths they had come and down to the cells. When the door was shut and locked he broke down. Bella was alive, but the elves had her now. And who knew what these treacherous creatures were up to with someone like her?


	15. Chapter 15

After some time no one could tell anymore which time of the day it was. It was dark in the dungeons, only the path was lit by a few torches. The small waterfall brought an ever-lasting dampness to the air and soon all the dwarves had given up their hope.

“We’re never going to reach the mountain in time, are we?” Ori said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

No one answered him. All the dwarves sat inside their cells and waited. They didn’t know for what, but something had to happen eventually, but nothing did.

Balin had counted. Six meals the elven guards had brought them so far. He doubted that they would allow them their average three meals per day, so they were probably locked up for three days. Sighing he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the waterfall. It was the only thing that was continuous. From time to time a dwarf snored in his cell, eventually some would even talk. The guards never talked to them, silence was the loudest noise in the dungeons.

Each time a guard passed his cell Thorin demanded to know what happened to Bella, no one ever answered him. If it continued this way he would punch in a wall! He was furious and anxious the same time and it grew with each rejection he received. Eventually he finally gave up and tried to cope with the thought of never seeing Bella again. Never reaching the mountain. Losing everything he had hoped for. Silent he sat in a corner and waited for the day he would rot, like Thranduil had told him to. There was nothing to life for anymore. He had failed. Bowing his head in realization he sighed desperately. He had failed, everyone and everything.

 

“Thorin?”

The only reaction was a slight flinch from the dwarf. So now he was at the stage where he started to imagine things. Great…

“Thorin!” The soft voice called again, pleading.

Slowly he lifted his head and what he saw was like a punch in the gut. With shaking legs he rose and stumbled to the bars. His hands gripped around them to keep him standing. “…Bella?” he whispered.

The hobbit on the other side smiled as a response. “Hey.” She greeted him quietly and laid her hands on his.

“You… You’re alive!”

She chuckled. “Of course I am you dumbhead. You won’t get rid of me that easily.” And she smiled the most enchanting smile Thorin had ever seen.

“We lost you in the forest…”

“The elves found me.”

So Thranduil hadn’t lied. “Are you alright?”

She nodded. “They patched me up again. I’m almost as good as new.”

Just now he noticed the pale scar on her forehead, running down to her cheek. Shocked he took her face in his hands. “I’m so sorry…”

Closing her eyes she shook her head and pulled her hands back. Just now he noticed that she wore gloves again. Once again her full body was covered in fabric. Had it gotten worse again? “I’m gonna get you out of here. I promise.” She whispered, so quietly he almost didn’t understand her. A last, faint smile and she turned around and walked back to an elven guard who led her out of the dungeons.

Thorin couldn’t move for a few moments. She was alive, Bella was alright. She would get them out of here. With a smile he sat down again, gaze still fixed on the bars as if he hoped that Bella would return any minute.

She didn’t. It took several days until Thorins hope faded again and he wondered if he actually had imagined Bella. But he’d felt her soft face under his hands…

 

Bofur had almost fallen asleep from the lulling sound of the waterfall and the soft music from somewhere when he suddenly he heard a new sound. Rustling fabric and anxious soft footsteps approached his cell. He shot up and was sure he was close to a heart attack when he looked into a soft female face.

“Bella?!” he called out louder than wanted.

“Shh!” she made immediately and looked around if any guards were nearby as she fumbled in the tucks of her skirt and pulled out a bunch of keys.

Bofurs eyes widened. “Where did you get these?” he hissed slightly.

Bella just smiled. “You were the one hiring me as a burglar.” She found the fitting key and unlocked the door.

Now the other dwarves also noticed her and stood waiting behind the bars, greeting her with great enthusiasm, some also petting her shoulders. Within less than two minutes she reached the last cell where Thorin waited.

“I thought you forgot us.” He whispered and carefully took her gloved hand.

“How could I?” Bella unlocked the bars without taking her eyes off him.

“Alright you two sweethearts, how do we get out of here?” Dwalin smirked.

With a blush on her cheeks Bella nodded. “Follow me. And be quiet. There are still guards.” Quickly she lumbered along the path and led the company to the paths she had so carefully explored during the last few days.

Along paths and stairs they walked, ever deeper down into the elven kingdom until they found themselves among huge wine barrels, drunken elves sitting by a table and being fast asleep.

“What are we doing down here? You wanted to lead us out of here!” Fili growled.

Belle just hushed him by shaking her head and led them further into the cellar until they stood in front of a pile of empty barrels.

“Into the barrels.” She ordered whispering.

“Are you mad? They will find us!” Dwalin hissed.

“Please, just trust me.” Pleading she looked to Thorin who stood beside her.

“Do as she says.” He said immediately.

Mumbling the dwarves climbed into the empty barrels. Bella checked that everyone was safe inside the barrels, then walked back to the lever.

Just then Bofur pocked his head out. “And what do we do now?”

She smiled a bit. “Hold your breath.” She pulled the lever and immediately the ground lifted on one side, sending the barrels down into the river below. Sighing relieved she watched the floor closing again. Then she realized that she’d forgotten one person: herself. Groaning she rolled her eyes and tried to open the floor once more. She succeeded but still she yelped in surprise when she fell backwards and hit the water. And of course she had also forgotten one more thing: She couldn’t swim.

Damn her stubborn mind to never thing of consequences! Her legs kicked and she tried to get to the surface again.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her out of the water. As soon as she felt the barrel she held on tightly, a hand still on her back.

“It’s fine, I gotcha.” It was Nori, speaking softly to her to calm her down a bit.

She looked up and smiled a bit. That was a nice try but the water around her could freeze anytime, she wouldn’t want to risk them being stuck in ice.

“Good work Miss Baggins.” Thorin smiled at her and started moving his barrel forward, the others following.

At the end of the group Nori lifted her into an empty barrel with the help of Bifur. Grateful she smiled at them and hurried to follow them. She felt far safer now in the barrel even though she didn’t know where the river would lead. Actually she didn’t really care as long as they would escape the elves.

Yes, her conscience didn’t like her actions, after all the elves had found her in the forest and saved her life. According to the healer who had been with her the whole time her still damaged rips had broken in the fall and the spider poison had knocked her out for several hours. If it wasn’t for them, she would have ended up as spider food. The elves had been good hosts, curious of course, only few had ever seen a hobbit, none ever in this part of middle earth. Not to mention the part with her powers. But they’d been patient with her, healing her, keeping her company and listened to her, mostly, made up story. They gave her new clothes, even a pair of light shoes they had found for her. In the whole kingdom she was allowed to wander freely with an elven guard by her side. For several days she had walked through the wide hall, listening and watching everything with awe. It reminded her of the Shire, just everything so much bigger and gracious. Rivulets and the lake in front of her hobbit hole were here wide rivers running through stone and wood and deep under the paths she sometimes saw a great lake, water deep and calm. From time to time she had wondered if there actually was a path down to this lake but hadn’t found one.

When she’d overheard that the dwarves were in the dungeons she had asked the elven guard, Elros was his name, to lead her there. Actually he was forbidden to do so, but he had a kind heart and had become fond of Bella, so he had done her this one favor. Still she knew it was too much to ask him helping her free the dwarves. And she still felt bad when she thought about how she had stolen the keys from him as he was already primed from the wine and sneaking away in the crowd.

 

There were two things she knew for sure when Thorin helped her out of the barrel. She was cold. And she was feeling sick. Soaked from head to toe she stood there on trembling legs with strong arms around her. She felt his breath on her cheek as he whispered: “Are you alright?”

“Think so.” She answered with her teeth chattering.

“We won’t come any further from here. We need to get over the lake. It’s too long to go around.” Balin sat down and looked helplessly to the mountain, so close, yet the big lake separated the company from their destination.

“I-I can freeze it.” Bella said quietly.

“You won’t do anything.” Thorin answered immediately and looked down to her strictly with a hint of worry shining in his eyes.

“But-“

“No ‘buts’, lass. A pond is one thing, this is a giant lake.” Gloin said.

Bella lowered her head. They were right, she was of no use in her state. Thorins arm on her back pushed slightly. “Come on, we need to keep moving, there’s still an orc pack on our heels.” He said loudly for everyone to hear.

“Kili’s wounded. His leg needs binding.” Fili suddenly said. Oh yes, he’d been shot by an arrow on the gate. Bella lifted her head again and looked over to the brothers who still sat on the rocks. The younger one looked awefully pale, one palm pressed to his leg. Fili laid a comforting arm around his shoulders.

Thorin hat stopped too. “Then do so. Quickly. We can’t afford long breaks.”

With a relieved sigh everybody sat down, glad for a few quiet minutes.

“How are we going to cross the lake otherwise?” Bella dared to ask quietly after a few moments of silence.

Thorin hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“Let me try at least! We would be over in no time!”

“Bella, I said no!” he snapped, then continued quieter. “I can clearly see how exhausted you are. You’ve done enough for today.” He sat down right beside her, their legs touching.

Carefully Bella laid her head on his shoulder and smiled, ignoring the snickering from the other dwarves. Thorin took her hand in his and caressed it. “We’ll reach the mountain in time. This won’t be for nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't blame me! They actually called a guy Elros in the movie! *hides*


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I'm still alive :D At least partly, the trailer actually made me cry...

For what felt like a very short time they just sat there and freezing. Literally, in Bella’s case. The ground under her feet was covered in a thin layer of ice, small pieces forming on her clothes and in her hair. Carefully she pushed Thorin aside who had been plucking said ice pieces out of her hair.

“Better stay away, I don’t want to accidentally freeze you.”

“I’m sure you won’t.”

“Thorin, I think I know better.”

He sighed. “You’re probably right there.”

She just wanted to chuckle when suddenly they heard an arrow flying through the air, piercing a piece of wood. For a second panic overcame them, thinking the orcs had already caught up with them. But then they saw a single dark figure standing above them on a rock, arrow and bow in his hands. Bella gulped when the end of the arrow suddenly was pointed towards her. “Do it again, and you’re dead.” The figure said, roaming his eyes over the group.

Balin was the first one brave enough to start moving again. “Excuse me, but you’re from Laketown if I’m not mistaken.” The arrow moved to him and he lifted his hands and took a step back. “That barge over there. It wouldn’t be available for hire by any chance?”

Ah, clever old Balin. Thorin smiled slightly and exhaled relieved. With some luck they would be over the lake in no time.

 

Apparently luck just didn’t want to be on their side. The man, Bard as he has introduced himself, was very suspicious and didn’t seem to be very friendly around strangers. In the end they had persuaded him, with a lot of money, to bootleg them into the town on his boat.

Now here they sat, in an old barge which was creaking and groaning as it was pushed forward by the light wind. It was getting more and more dark and cold since they had left the shore behind them, a thick fog settling around them. Everybody shivered, being still in their soaked clothes, the cold wind not making it any better. They sat in silence, a very unpleasant tension in the air.

Thorin stood in the front of the boat and tried to see through the fog, but the hazy white didn’t reveal anything.

“If we’re lucky, we might make it in time.” Dwalin stepped beside him.

“We will be in time. This can’t be for nothing.”

“It better isn’t. We gave all the remaining money to this guy.”

Thorin sighed and peeked over his shoulder to where Bella sat. Bofur had given her his hat to keep her at least a bit warm. The king smiled as he watched her chatting with Ori and Bifur. The hat was too big for her, but the way it spun whenever she moved her head was just cute.

Dwalin chuckled and leaned against the railing. “She’s your one, isn’t she?”

“…Yes.”

“Will you ask her?”

“Of course.”

“When?”

“As soon as I see a good opportunity.” Thorin looked back to the water below them.

Dwalin laughed quietly. “You’re truly the biggest fool I’ve ever met, Thorin Oakenshiled. Facing the pale orc without batting an eye and too cowardly to ask his one.”

Even Thorin grinned a little. “Oh, shut up.”

Suddenly Bard left his position at the oar. “Into the barrels. And no sound.” He ordered.

Mumbling the company did as he said, they had no other choice but to trust him anyway. They climbed into the empty barrels and stayed quiet. The barge thrust against something and stopped. Bard talked to someone and suddenly the barrels were flooded by fish. Fresh, slimy, stinky fish. A groan came out of a barrel. Now that wasn’t a very pleasant way to travel…

 

“Alright, if I need to touch any more water today I won’t even try not to freeze it.” Bella walked in small circles and rubbed her arms to keep her warm.

“We all are sick of it now, lass.” Balin tried to comb his beard with his fingers. Some seaweed was tangled in it.

“You are just lucky you haven’t been spotted.” Bard hissed and threw a pile of blankets, coats and other clothes in front of the company. “It should keep you warm.” He glared at Bella for a second before he left again. Either he was still wondering what exactly she was or he was just angry that that small thing had left frozen spots everywhere in his house.

Bella knelt down and searched for something that might fit her, when something was laid around her shoulders and when she looked up she saw Thorin with a light smile on his face.

“Here.”

She smiled back and put on the dark blue coat. “Thanks.”

Somebody chuckled and she quickly looked away to hide the blush. Thorin helped her up and looked to Bard. “What about the weapons?”

“Patience, Master Dwarf.” The human disappeared down the stairs and Thorin growled.

“We paid this guy all of our money, he better give us good weapons.” Gloin had found a thick robe and put it on.

“I’m sure he will.” Bella said and snuggled closer to Thorin, still feeling cold.

Without saying anything he put his arms around her and held her close, feeling her cold skin against his own. Her body temperature had always been below average, but this was a bit too cold for Thorins liking. He shot a warning glance to Dwalin as he was about to talk to Nori, probably just making another bet.

Closing his eyes he rested his chin on top of her head, in response she just snuggled closer, her face buried in his coat. He felt her heart beating, a bit faster than normal, her warm breath touching his chest and her small arms around his body. And somehow he had to smile, just holding her made him happy and he softly caressed her hair.

Slowly Bella struggled to loosen his grip a bit and looked up. “Thorin, I-“ “Sh-“ He laid a finger on her lips and she blushed even more.

Suddenly Bard returned and threw a pile of what hopefully would be weapons on the table. But again luck just didn’t want to be on their side. Dung forks, staffs, a shovel, even a frying pan, no useful weapons.

“We paid you for weapons!” Thorin hissed and carefully pushed Bella aside. “Not for cutlery.”

“This is the best you’ll get without the mayor noticing.”

“This is bullshit.” Nori threw something that almost looked like a spear back onto the table. “Where are the weapons?”

“Looked away in the armory.”

“Get us there.”

Bard hesitated for a second, then shook his head. “No.”

“Why not?” Bella asked, something like anger rolling in her stomach.

“Just stay in this house! Don’t leave, don’t make people suspicious.” With these words he left and quickly shut the door behind him.

 

Torches lit the dark night, candles on every desk made the whole room shine in a warm orange glow, the joyful music filling it like a jar with sweet honey. Somehow ironic. Only about two hours ago they had been taken captive for trying to steal weapons. Now they spontaneously started a celebration just for them. Greedy men, they just made this for the gold Thorin had promised them…

Bella stared into her empty cup. “I swear there was something just a minute ago…”

“Nah, no problem. Lemme refill it.” The man behind the desk took the cup and poured ale in it until it was close to overflowing. Then he gave it back to Bella who gratefully took it.

“Thanks!” At first the people had been suspicious of her, no one had ever seen hobbits here, especially in elfish fabric. Now they were just as friendly to her as they were to the dwarves. Bella took a large sip and gasped for air afterwards.

The man laughed. “This hobbit-thing is good! I bet she can outdrink one of the dwarves!”

“Oh, we’ll see!” Bofur hopped on the chair beside her. “Gimme a mug like that too!”

If Bella hadn’t already been tipsy, she would’ve quit in this moment. But she had already drunk to much alcohol for her small, inexperienced body to handle, so she simply laughed and drank the rest of her cup in one sip, not caring about the ale that spilled on her skirt. The man behind the desk refilled it immediately, but before she could reach for it, Thorin quickly pushed it over to Bofur.

“You’ve had quite enough for today.” He protectively laid his arm around her waist.

Bella pounded. “’m fine.”

“You’ll have a huge hangover tomorrow already. Don’t make it worse.”

“But-“ She started to whine.

“No. Now come on, I’ll get you to bed.”

Not really fighting anymore she was lifted with the arm still around her waist. Her body slumped against Thorin and she giggled. “I’m drunk, aren’t I?”

Thorin couldn’t help but to chuckle a bit. “You are too drunk, my dear.”

Bella didn’t even think anymore, she just leaned forward and suddenly their lips met. Somebody, or more like the whole crowd, cheered. But she just didn’t mind, laying her arms around Thorin’s neck when she felt both his hands on her hips. She felt his lips moving slowly and she followed, forcing down a moan. It escaped her throat anyway when his tongue touched her lower lip, carefully asking for entrance which she gratefully gave him. Another moan fled over her lips as Thorin pulled her even closer and his tongue explored every corner of her mouth, gliding over her teeth and deeper.

They let go of each other gasping for breath, a thin line of saliva still connecting their lips.

Thorin silently leaned his forehead against hers. “Come on now, you need to sleep.” He whispered and carried her up the stairs, ignoring the calls from behind him.

“Stay. Please.” Bella sat up again after Thorin had placed her on the bed.

“You’re drunk, you don’t think clearly.” Still he couldn’t deny he wanted it himself, but it just wasn’t right. He wouldn’t take advantage of the situation.

Bella held onto his shirt, looking to him like a beaten dog. “Please. I- I need you.” Before he could answer her soft lips locked again with his and he felt his will leaving him as the Hobbit pulled him down on the bed. Finally he surrendered to his desire and quickly pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it to the floor. He leaned down again, kissing those sweet lips and helping Bella out of her clothes until they both were stripped to their underwear.

The dwarf softly quit a kiss and looked into bright blue eyes. “You’ve never been touched by a man before, have you?” he asked softly.

Bella shook her head lightly, almost looking sad.

“I’ll be gentle, just say and I’ll stop.” He whispered and kissed her again. For once her body was warm, not heated up like his, but comfortable warm. All evening her powers had seemed like shut down. Maybe now she had finally mastered it. “So beautiful.” Thorin whispered and kissed her neck, went lower to her collarbone and enjoying the small moans out of her mouth.

Somebody clearing his throat suddenly startled them both. Surprised they looked to the wide open door where a man stood, a candle in one hand, the door handle in the other. “I’ll just close that if you don’t mind.” With these words he quickly shut the wooden door and his footsteps became quieter.

For a few seconds it was silent in the room, then Thorin and Bella suddenly started laughing, before continuing. This time without any open doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know, does this count as nsfw already?   
> And next chapter we're off to Erebor!


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning Bella woke from a soft kiss on her temple and a warm hand on her hair. Sighing she opened her eyes a bit and looked into Thorins soft face. A smile spread on her lips as the memories slowly returned to her. And the headache started to make itself noticeable…

“Good morning.” Thorin said and smiled too.

“A very good morning indeed.” She answered whispering, closing her eyes again.

“Come on, we need to get up.” The hand left her head and she grumbled.

“Already?” The stern look returned to the dwarfs face for a brief second.

“The sooner we leave, the better.” Thorin stood up and Bella quickly hid her face in the pillow. He was naked, completely. Well, somehow that was only logical… She peeked under the blanket and found her own body stripped too. Why was she even surprised about that? Groaning she sat up and rubbed her forehead. That was probably the hangover Thorin had warned her about. He handed her a glass of water.

“Here, that should make it better.”

“Thanks.” She gratefully drank it. Why wasn’t Thorin affected too? He’d not drunken any less than her.

“Are you feeling unwell?” He knelt down beside the bed.

“Just headache.”

“It’ll soon pass, don’t worry.”

“How do you know?”

The dwarf chuckled. “I’ve already been through my first hangover long ago.” He laid her clothes on the bed and pulled over his shirt. “I will wait for you downstairs.” A soft kiss on her lips and he went, leaving her alone in the room.

With a sigh Bella swung her legs over the edge of the bed and quickly put on her underwear. There still was that strange feeling in her belly, tickling slightly and making her feel warm from the inside. With a smile she stood up and ignored the dizziness and her shaking knees. The memory was fuzzy, hazy, half lost in her booze from last night. But she remembered that Thorin had been gentle, gentle and careful like she’d never expected it from him. She felt her face heating up at further memories and quickly got dressed, the happy smile never leaving her face.

 

“Slept well?” Eleven grinning faces greeted her, but she just kept smiling.

“I could do without the hangover…”

“No wonder, after what you drank last night.” Dori gave her a glass of water.

She sat down beside him and drank it gratefully. “When are we leaving?”

“As soon as possible.” Thorin came into the room, fully clothed with a sword on his belt. “Eat your breakfast, we still have a long way.”

Quickly the dwarves continued to eat and Bella joined them, her stomach demanding loudly for food. Suddenly two hands were on her shoulders and as she looked up warm lips touched hers.

“Don’t eat too much, I won’t carry you.”

She smiled with red cheeks. “Pity.”

 

“Do you really think it was a good idea?” Bella whispered to Thorin. She really felt bad for leaving Kili behind when he was sick. At least Oin was with him…

“He would have only slowed us down.”

“Thorin…” He sighed and sat down next to her.

“I know what it sounds like, but I won’t let this chance pass. Bella, this is what I wanted all my life! We can finally return to our home!”

“Yes, but-“

“Don’t argue with me now, please.”

“I’m just worried about him.”

“We all are.”

The hobbit leaned against him and spread her hand, snowflakes forming out of pure air and falling softly into her lap. She smiles and looks up to Thorin. “I think I get it now.”

“Get what?”

“How it works.”

He put an arm around her. “Will you tell me?”

“It’s contingent on my mood. When I feel sad, it gets worse, but when I’m happy, I can perfectly control it.” She turne her hand in the air and snowflakes started to dance around it.

“Well then I will have to take care that you won’t be sad again.” He kissed her temple and stood up again. “We will soon be on the shore, get your stuff ready.” He called to the rest of the company.

This last day surely was the most exhausting. Even though they walked on the old road, the hiking became climbing from time to time when rocks blocked the road or when it ended abruptly and they had to search for it again. The sun had just reached the highest point when they finally stood before the city of Dale. Or more what had been Dale. Before Smaug. Bella let herself drop onto a stone and took a big gulp from her water bottle.

“Can we make a small break?” Bifur patted her back and walked past her. That probably was a ‘no’. Sighing she forced herself back onto her feet and followed the dwarves. Now there wasn’t even a road anymore, they had to fight their way through low thicket and high grass, the trees had already ended far below them. In her mind Bella already thought about how wonderful it would be to just freeze the whole way down and then slide downhill. Oh how wonderful that would be…

 

“Thorin… I don’t like this…” Bella buried her fingernails into Thorins sleeve and stared to the dark path. Her heart already raced in her chest and she felt her knees getting weaker. Behind this path was a dragon. A real, living dragon. Something she had only known from stories. Until now.

“This is your part of the contract.” He careful freed her fingers and pushed her forward. Bella gulped and looked up to him, Thorin didn’t even look down to her anymore, his gaze was fixed on the path and there was a strange gleam in his eyes. She didn’t felt good about this, Thorin seemed to have forgotten everything and he hadn’t turned around once since they’d entered the mountain.

“I know…” she whispered and closed her eyes to take a deep breath. A look over her shoulder, the dwarves looked at her with hope in their eyes. Hope to finally return home. With a forced smile she turned around again and slowly walked into the dark and was soon swallowed by it. Every now and then she snapped her fingers to create a soft blue light out of ice which soon faded again, still it wasn’t enough to prevent her from walking into a wall once or twice. Those stone walls were harder than simple wooden walls she was used to…

And suddenly the walls around her were gone and she felt as if something squeezed the air out of her lungs. There was nothing around her to throw back her breathing sound or her loud beating heart. Just a giant, pitch black room. Shaking she lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. The sound echoed slightly and lost itself somewhere in the distance. With a spark a soft blue light formed out of the air and Bella felt her breath stopping.

In front of her was indeed a giant room. More of a hall with the large columns. And gold. A lot of gold. She couldn’t make out what exactly, but it was a lot. Sparkling in a soft light a soft room in front of her light up and she felt the courage leaving her. How was she supposed to find a stone here and not accidentally step onto a dragon meanwhile? Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath, this couldn’t be so difficult, could it? Maybe the dragon wasn’t even near the arkenstone and she could grab it and head out again. Maybe she didn’t even need to face the dragon. The second time today she forced herself to smile and went down the stairs without making any sounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, I hope you liked this early chapter. Who's ready for some Smaug in the next chapter? :3


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important note at the end of the chapter! Please read!

Once Bella had been at a beach. Not by the ocean, it had been a lake somewhere in the Shire. But there had been sand around the water and she remembered pretty clearly how exhausting it had been, walking around in the sand. Walking around in gold wasn’t any easier, not to say even harder. With every step she took she sank almost to her knees and not even an hour later she was so exhausted she just sat down and almost gasped for breath.

She had found several jewels, but none seemed to be the one she searched for. Sighing she sat down and tried to get the hair out of her face. Her stomach already demanded food and of course she hadn’t taken something to eat with her. Sure, look for a freaking single jewel in a hall larger than Hobbiton, filled with mountains of gold! And while you’re at it, don’t even take a single apple with you. You will have found the jewel before you’ve starved to death. Surely.

She groaned and buried her face in her knees. The never ending darkness only made it worse. In the caves under the misty mountains she at least had have the security that probably she had been the only living thing down there. Now she knew that somewhere in this darkness was a dragon.

Finally she had caught her breath enough and stood up again, some coins jingling as they rolled down the mountain. At first Bella had got almost a heart attack every time something had made a sound, now she didn’t really care anymore. That dragon seemed to be fast asleep. Still she stood still for a few seconds and listened. Nothing than her own breath.

Bella let her hands form a bowl that pulsed with soft blue light. Her hands already ached from snapping her fingers all the time. She pushed it lightly and it flew up, lighten a big area around her. With a sigh of relieve she looked around. Well that was way better. Even if there still was no sign of that arkenstone.

According to the picture it was glowing, so she should see it in this dim light, shouldn’t she? Lost in her thoughts she went up the gold mountain until her foot suddenly hit something that definitely wasn’t gold.

Immediately her body froze and she carefully lifted her foot. For a few seconds nothing happened and she stared at the red scales just in front of her, then the mountain started moving.

With a yelp Bella ran down the mountain and tried to hide behind a column. After another few seconds of silence she dared to peek around the corner and gulped when she saw a dragon head, at least three times her whole body size. And suddenly the eye opened. Immediately Bella pressed herself against the back of the column and prayed that the dragon hadn’t seen her. She heard him lift himself from under the gold, the coins falling of his scales and him sniffing.

Then a deep, humming voice started to talk: “Well… thief. I smell you.” More coins fell down and Bella somehow knew that the dragon now was fully free. “I hear your breath.” A large claw was placed right beside her and she had to pull herself together not to cry out. Quickly she crept around the column, to where she hoped the dragon wouldn’t see her. “Where are you?” Bella shivered. It seemed like the dragon had just whispered right into her ear. “Where are you?” Suddenly the head came around the column and for a brief seconds she just stared into the eye of Smaug.

When he started to growl, her body started moving on its own. Down the mountain out of gold she ran as fast as she could, feeling the breath of the dragon in her neck. Luckily she was able to sneak behind another column and the dragon was out of her sign, for now at least.

“Come on now.” The voice sounded distant, but too close for Bellas liking. “Don’t be shy. Step into the light.” Light would be a good option since they were out of reach from the lamp Bella had made, thus it was pitch black again. The hobbit waited for a few seconds, forcing her breath and heartbeat to calm down. When nothing happened and she was sure the dragon was not near her, she dared to form a small light between her hands. Bad idea, since she stared right into the eye of Smaug again, when she looked up.

“There you are, thief in the shadows.”

Bella was sure she was about to faint, but somehow managed to keep her mind working. “I-I… I did not come to steal from you.” She said with a surprisingly steady voice. “O Smaug, I’ve come a very long way just so see with my own eyes how great you are. Like the old tales say. I did not believe them…”

Smaug made a noise that sounded like a snort and walked backwards, rising to his full height. “And do you now?” Carefully Bella made the light brighter and let it rise like the previous.

She gulped when she saw the sheer size of the dragon. “Truly. All the tales and songs are utterly true for your enormously, o Smaug the stupendous.”

“Do you think flattery will keep you alive?” Smaug hissed and moved towards her again.

“N-No. No.” Alright, that was it. She was going to end up as toasted hobbit. Wonderful.

“No, indeed.” He came nearer, tilting his head a bit to the side. “You seem to be familiar with my kin, but I don’t remember smelling your kind before. Who are you to make such craft?” He poked the ice lamp and looked back to Bella. “Who are you? And where do you come from? May I ask?” She was about to answer when suddenly, only a few feet in front of her, she noticed a glowing jewels among the coins. Almost she had sighed in relieve, but then she remembered the dragon, also right in front of her. “I… I come from under the hill.”

“Underhill?” She nodded quickly.

“And- And under hills and over hills my path had let.” She dared to step a bit ahead. “And even through the air!”

Smaug seemed to grin as he crept around her. “Impressive. What else do you claim to be?” He came nearer until his mouth was so close, she could smell his foul breath.

“I-I am… luck bearer. Barrel rider.”

The dragon inhaled deeply, probably memorizing her smell. “Interesting titles. Go on.”

“Ice child.”

“Ice?” Smaug backed up like she’d just insulted one of his ancestors. “And what about your litte dwarf friends? Where are they hiding?”

“D-Dwarf? Which dwarves?” Carefully Bella took another few steps. If she reached out now, she could probably reach the jewel.

“Oh, you know exactly what I am talking about. They send you in here to do their task, didn’t they?”

“N-No! You are mistaken, o Smaug chiefest and greatest of all dragons.” It would only need one quick motion and she would have the arkenstone in her hands.

But Smaug now rose to his full height again and out of instinct she took a few steps back. "You have nice manners, for a thief and a liar!” His huge claw landed right next to her and sent the arkenstone flying down the mountain. Quickly Bella ran after it, but in the end it was more sliding down than running.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know this day would come? The day when a pack of dwarves would come back, crawling to the mountain, drawn by their gold!”

She laid still, half buried under golden coins, hoping Smaug would overlook her. And truly he did, he walked right over her, his eyes roaming the area.

“The king under the mountain is gone. I took his throne!”

Bella quickly stood up and started to run down a pair of stairs, right into the darkness again. She jumped into the gold, escaping Smaug only by a few inches.

“I kill where I wish. When I wish.” Deeper down into the darkness she ran, ever after the arkenstone. “My armor is iron. No blade can pierce me!” By chance the hobbit managed to slide under a big stone gallery, gasping for breath. “They sent you for the arkenstone, didn’t they? Ice child.”

“N-No!” There it was again, ten, maybe fifteen steps outside of the gallery. “That fool Oakenshild sent you. The coward has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing.” Bella closed her eyes. That wasn’t true. The dragon tried to make her desperate, to let her guard down.

“No… No… No, you’re lying!”

“What did he promise you? A fair share of the treasure? Or something only a female would want?” Now that wasn’t nice at all! Bella peeked outside and saw that Smaug had turned away from her, so she took her chance and ran towards the arkenstone. But the coins made such a noise, Smaug immediately turned to her and with a smash of his claw sent her flying through the air. She rolled down the hill and hit another column with a pained groan.

“My teeth are swords, my claws are spears, my wings are a hurricane!” Silently he watched the Hobbit as she struggled to sit up. “You have his stench all over you, ice child.”

She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore what she’d just heard. “Well, o Smaug, you truly have no equal on this earth.” Her gaze was caught by the arkenstone, again only a few steps away from her.

Smaug growled lightly. “I am most tempted to let you take it and let Oakenshield suffer. Watch it destroy him. Watch it corrupt his heart, drive him mad.” Something that might be a grin came over his features. “But I think not. Our little game ends here.” His underside started to glow in an orange light. “Tell me, thief. How do you wish to die?” He lunged forward, mouth open and ready to tear the small thing apart.

Bella yelped and quickly sent an ice ball smashing against his mouth. She heard a howl behind her as she ran up the next stairs she could find. Then she felt blazing heat on her back, but managed to cross the next corner and escape the flames.

The dragon was apoplectic, she heard him howling and breathing fire wherever he could. No wonder, his victim has escaped. Still Bella didn’t dare to look over her shoulder, she just ran up the stairs and searched for the way out. After more minutes than she’d expected, she finally saw a dim light on the stairs and ran up, only to see Thorin with a torch.

She sighed in relieve. “Thorin…”

“Did you find it?” His gaze was hard and cold. Shivering she took a small step back. This look in Thorins eyes, she didn’t like it…

“The dragon’s awake, we have to get out of here.” She wanted to step past him, but suddenly the edge of a sword was pressed against her ribcage.

“The arkenstone. Did you find it?”

“Thorin…” With wide eyes she looked at him. He wasn’t serious, was he? There was a dragon somewhere in here, wide awake and looking for her and all he cared about was that freaking stone! He turned the blade, tip lying right above her heart. In his eyes the warmth was lost, replaced by nothing but an icy stare.

Bella shivered slightly. “Thorin!”

Suddenly the ground under their feet shook and they heard a roar. Smaug had found them. Even Thorin took his gaze of Bella and his breath seemed to stop for a second. Looked like he wouldn’t do anything. Quickly Bella shot another ice ball at the dragon and wanted to push Thorin backwards while he still was distracted, but eight dwarves crashed into them and she almost fell from the stairs.

Damn those dwarves and their stubbornness!

 

Probably Bella wouldn’t have fallen when the huge windows behind her were suddenly bursting and Smaug flew right over her head, if she still had the strength. But after hours running away from a dragon, shooting several ice balls and even blocking the fire with her ice, she was so exhausted, she didn’t even care anymore if the dragon would eat her now. Surely, the ice had done it’s effect, slowing down Smaug and even causing him some harm, but it was far from actually fighting against him. More of a desperate defense. When the heavy fabric came upon her, she finally gave up and let herself drop onto the floor.

“You! You thought you could deceive me, ice child?” The last two words were more spat than said. “You’ve come from Laketown!” A short silence followed until Smaug growled again. “Is this some sort of match between these filthy dwarves and those miserable lake men. Those cowards with their longbows and black arrows!” He turned around. “Perhaps it is time to pay them a visit.”

“No…” Bella quickly scrambled on her feet. Kili was still there. With Fili and Oin. And Bofur. “It isn’t their fault! Wait!” She roared after him, so loud it made her throat hurt. “You cannot go to Laketown!”

Smaug stopped and turned around, something like dark glee in his voice. “You care about them, don’t you? Good, then you can watch them die!”

“No!” Desperate Bella ran after him, trying to summon another ice ball, but all she managed were a few snowflakes.

Just when she thought it was lost, she heard Thorins voice. “Here! You witless worm!”

Again the dragon stopped, turning around with a hiss. “You…”

“I am taking back what you’ve stolen.”

“You will take nothing from me, dwarf.” Almost prancing he approached Thorin. “I defeated your warriors of old. I instilled terror at the hearts of men. I am King under the mountain.” With a growl he rose to his full height.

“This is not your kingdom! These are dwarf lands, this is dwarven gold. And we will have revenge.” Bella heard him call something in his language and suddenly the huge stones at the end of the hall were falling apart, revealing a statue, as high as Smaug and completely out of gold.

The dragon crept closer, drawn to the pure shining noble metal. Even Bella stopped dead to admire it. Somewhere she understood Smaug, it seemed to call, to force one to stop and just stare at it. But then suddenly it seemed to burst, the gold sputtering in every direction and filling the hall within seconds. The dragon didn’t have time to react fast enough, his mind still clouded from the sight of the brilliant gold, thus he was buried underneath it, almost swallowed by it.

A few seconds everything went still and just as Bella wanted to cool down the glowing gold to make sure Smaug couldn’t move ever again, the surface started to stir. Not even a second later he burst through the surface, making a sound similar to whining. “Revenge! Revenge! I will show you revenge!” He trampled through the large hall, sputtering the gold everywhere, not caring where he went.

“No…” Even though she already felt as if she was about to faint, Bella still ran after him. She had to stop him. He would burn down Laketown! The people would die! Through the hall she followed him, and the burst open front gate, but Smaug was already gone, high in the sky, heading to the city on the lake, right before them. The hobbit collapsed on a piece from a broken statue, starring after the dragon, already a black spot in the sky. “What have we done…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, at this point I'd like to give a big hug to all of you! Seriously, I love you guys! <3  
> Since I'll be on holidays from sunday on and I probably won't be able to use my laptop tomorrow and I've never read the book this story will be paused until the third movie has come out and I will be able to think about it without crying...   
> Until then I wish every one of you a wonderful time and see you at the end of the year! :D


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you miss me? :'D  
> *hands out cookies* The chapter should've been finished yesterday, but... yeah ^^"   
> I'm glad to be back and hope you're too. From now on I'll do my best to again upload a chapter each week and I will have to write the whole thing from my memory, I've seen the movie only once so far so please don't be too hard on me in chase I make some mistakes, I'm not perfect even though I sometimes like to act like it  
> Oh yes, and of course there'll be spoilers in here now

_There was a picture on Lord Elrond’s desk Bella had been admiring since she had sat down in the chair, which was so high that her legs were dangling in the air. It showed an elfish woman with wavy silver hair and bright blue eyes._

_Suddenly the picture was taken by a hand and offered to her for a better view. Lord Elrond smiled kindly at the Hobbit as she carefully took the framed picture._

_“My wife Celebrían. Isn’t she beautiful?”_

_Bella nodded and observed the picture. Her features were soft and round, her eyes slightly narrower than she knew of the elves here. Probably she was from a farer away line and had no kin here. She couldn’t help but to wonder how Elrond had met her. “I haven’t seen her here.” She stated as a half-question and placed the picture back on the desk._

_Elrond’s smile turned bitter and immediately Bella felt the heat on her face. “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- I mean, I didn’t know-“ “_

_It’s alright.” He cut her off and moved to sit on the other side of his desk, carefully placing the picture of his wife to its former place. Still Bella stared at her hands. Of course something like this always happened to her. Why could she never watch her tongue?_

_“I’m sorry.” She said again._

_The elven lord simply smiled slightly and took a book from the pile on his desk. “I hope you had a decent sleep after yesterday’s excitement?”_

_“Yes, I actually was sleeping better than expected.”_

_“That is nice to hear.” He opened the book at a seemingly random page. “I remember correctly that you had these powers since your birth?”_

_“Well, it was like this since I can remember. Did you find anything?”_

_“I can’t say for sure.” He hesitated slightly and thumbed a bit through the book. “I went on search for a gift of the Valar, but there’s never been something similar. Tell me Miss Baggins, has there ever been anything unusual in your family?”_

_Bella thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think so…”_

_“Anything, even though you might find it ridiculous.”_

_“Well… there are rumors that one of my mother’s ancestors once married a fairy.”_

_“A fairy?”_

_“That’s what they say. But it’s really just a rumor!”_

_“It might not be just a rumor as you put it.”_

_“Do you think it has got something to do with my powers?”_

_Elrond smiled. “It’s quite possible. Have you ever heard the tale of Melian?”_

_“No, I have never heard it.”_

_“She was a Maia, living in the first age. She fell in love with Tingol, an elfish king, and Iluvatar grated her life with him. They had a daughter-“_

_“Luthien Tinuviel. Yes, now I remember. My mother used to tell me these tales.”_

_“Good, that spares us some time. Now, do you know anything about that fairy your ancestor had supposedly married?”_

_“No… like I said, it’s a myth I grew up with, nobody has ever bothered to tell me any details.” Bella hesitated. “You don’t think this fairy is a…”_

_“It is possible.”_

_“But even if this is the cause, why is it just me? Why no one before me?”_

_“I wish I could tell my dear Halfling.” He smiled apologizing. “But I think I can continue the research with this information way better now.” Elrond stood up and called for Lindir who lead Bella to a small room where she could eat a belayed breakfast._

_Gandalf stepped into the study as soon as the Hobbit was out of sight. “Do you think you can help her?” he asked._

_“I can’t promise anything. If her ancestor really is a Maia, then somehow all the powers must have been passed down to her while it has never showed on anyone else.” He sighed. “This isn’t something I have ever dealt with.”_

_“She’s a strong one, I’m sure-“_

_“She’s a Halfling. No matter how strong she is, the power of a Holy One is too much for her body to handle, even though it might be weakened through the generations. It’s only a matter of time until it will overwhelm her.”_

_Gandalf nodded slowly, as much as he wished it would be otherwise, he knew that Elrond was right. It was only a matter of time until she would perish because of these powers if they really came from a Maia. He only wished to help her, but he was subjected to an oath._

_“Mithrandir, there is a favor you could do for me.” Elrond said as he sorted out the books on his desk._

_“Anything that might help.”_

_“We need to know if there was anyone else besides Melian. We need to know exactly who and when. Do you think you can do that?”_

_Gandalf hesitated, and then departed from the study without another word._

 

 

Someone shake her shoulder lightly, “Bella. Bella, wake up.”

Mumbling she opened her eyes and rubbed. “What?” She looked into the face of Dwalin who had kneeled down to her.

“You fell asleep.”

Immediately she was on her feet again. “Did I miss something?” She didn’t need an answer as she stood upon the broken wall and saw the bright light from the lake. Esgaroth was burning. The high flames lit the dark night and the water shimmered blood red. Above in the sky the dragon circled a dark shadow in the night.

Bella felt faint. She could’ve prevented this; she could’ve stopped the dragon. Four of their company were in there somewhere, she could only pray they would be alright. And Kili was sick, how were they supposed to get him out alright?

A sudden hand on her shoulder made her jump slightly. “Breath, lass, they surely are fine.” Balin patted her shoulder, but the worried expression didn’t leave his face.

Bella turned around and forced herself to breath calmly. This was not how it was supposed to be. This was probably the worst case she could’ve imagined. In the dark she could make out Thorin’s figure, standing outside of the company. She didn’t dare to walk over to him, the previous events still were too frightening for her. Slowly the figure moved and she found herself hoping he would join them, but then it disappeared behind the next stairs and was gone.

“Look!” Ori suddenly shouted and pointed somewhere above the town. “The dragon! It’s falling!”

Immediately everybody turned to where he was pointing and truly, the giant statue of Smaug dropped from the sky, wings flailing useless in the air and a last desperate roar echoed through the air before he crashed unto the burning town. Suddenly it was silent, even the fires seemed to have calmed down, now only burning low and shining in a silent glow.

“It’s dead.” Nori breathed and stared into the overcoming darkness.

Bifur added something and lowered his eyes.

After that nobody dared to say something, as if they were afraid they might wake something with their words. Silent they slowly descended and returned to the gates of the mountain.

 

 

Bella was woken by kisses on her temple. She opened her eyes to see Thorin standing next to the bed, already fully dressed.

With a sigh she sat up. “What is it?” She really didn’t feel like getting up now, how long had she slept, two hours? She was still so exhausted and the fatigue was deep in her bones.

“Get up, we have work to do.” His hand briefly caressed her hair.

“Thorin, I’m tired, please, just let me sleep.”

“Get up.” He simply repeated and placed her clothes on her bed. With a groan Bella threw the blanket away and quickly put on her clothes and coat. The mountain was cold. After they had returned to the mountain a few hours ago Thorin had showed her the nearest chambers so she could rest.

Yawning she followed him back to the treasure chambers. The company was already searching, fighting their way through the mountains of gold and looking for the arkenstone. This was ridiculous. They would need an army to search the whole of the treasure locked inside here for a single stone.

And they were only eight, nine with Thorin who spent all the time overseeing their work and yelling at them each hour in which they still didn’t find the damned stone. It made Bella tear up, how Thorin changed. Not even two days ago he had been the most gentle, loving person she had known. And now she was almost afraid of him. The way he glanced at everyone, the way he didn’t even sleep anymore and barely ate, the dark shade over his eyes as he walked through the now lit hallways. It wasn’t natural, it wasn’t how it should be.

With a sigh she sat down and rubbed her eyes. Because of tiredness or of the dangerous blur in her vision, she didn’t know, cared even less. She just wanted to rest, just wanted a break from everything.


	20. Chapter 20

Bella didn’t even care to walk around the giant column to reach the original stairs. With a wave of her hand ice formed out of the air into another set of stairs to walk up and out of the gold.

She should think about getting some boots while walking around in the treasure, her feet were already completely covered in bandages because she had already stepped on something sharp or pointy several times.

She was about to sit down when she faintly heard someone calling for her. Immediately she concentrated on her hearing and followed the source of the calling. Her heart made a jump when she recognized Fili’s voice. They were alright! They had made it out of the town.

Running up the stairs to meet them Bella felt a smile on her face. It only grew when she suddenly found herself in the arms of Bofur.

“Bella! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” he lifted her of the ground a bit before carefully setting her down again. “It’s good to see you!”

She hugged the other three dwarves. “We saw the fire, I was so worried about you.”

“We made it out quite alright.” Kili grinned and Bella had to fight down the urge to slap him.

“You! What are you grinning at? We were worried sick about you! When we left you looked as if you were about to die.”

“He actually was.” Fili confessed. “The arrow that hit him was poisoned.”

“What? But-“

“Don’t worry, lass. He’s fine again.” Oin patted her shoulder.

Bella took a few seconds. “Wait… how?”

“The good lad got himself an elf.” Bofur laughed and Kili turned red.

“Don’t even try to deny it, little brother.” Fili pushed him aside playfully and whispered to Bella: “Head over tails. Nobody’s gonna save him from that one.”

“Excuse me, I can hear you from here.” Kili complained loudly and everybody laughed, even he himself.

“A dwarf and an elf… Just when you think you’ve seen everything.” Bella shook her head with a smile. “You’re uncle’s not gonna be happy about that.”

“Speaking of, where is he?”

Bella looked to the ground and bit her lower lip. “Well… See, he’s-”

Before she could continue she was interrupted by Fili walking past her, down the stairs and right to the treasure. With an uneasy feeling in her stomach she followed the small group.

 

 

The air inside the mountain was thick and musty. Sometimes it almost felt hot and all the time it stank of dragon.

Bella couldn’t help but to wonder how the dwarves could stay inside for such a long time, she had felt like choking inside from the terrible air. Even more she had welcomed the almost blue sky and warming sun as she stepped outside.

Winter was close, the first snowflakes danced softly in the noon breeze and it wasn’t even her doing. With a sigh she sat down and tried to enjoy the sun and fresh air for a bit, but the weight in her left pocket suddenly seemed so much more.

Her hand itched, but she didn’t move, trying to resist. Eventually the curiosity overcame her and she carefully reached inside her pocket. Her hand was greeted by a cold and smooth surface and she closed her fingers around it.

Again she hesitated and quickly looked around to make sure she still was alone. She was, the rest of the company was probably still in the mountain somewhere, looking for the stone in her hand.

Closing her eyes Bella pulled it out and slowly peeked. Even here, in the sunlight it gleamed brightly in its pure light. Almost enchanted Bella stared at the cursed stone and wished nothing more than to throw it in the deepest cave where it would never be found again.

Just why was Thorin so obsessed with this thing? Why would he cherish such a cold and lifeless stone over all the kindness and happiness he’d shown and received during their journey?

She let the stone glide back into her pocked and stood up. The others had probably noticed her disappearance by now and she didn’t want to get in trouble. The very least she wanted to argue with Thorin in his current state of mind. With a heavy sigh she left the last sunny spot she would see for the coming days.

The sun was already sinking as they were standing on the gates of the mountain, quietly watching the survivors of Laketown flooding into the ruins of Dale, obviously looking for shelter and warmth after having lost their homes.

It was a heartbreaking sight, even from where they could barely even make out single figures. They were walking stooped from the heavy loads on their backs, even the children carried as much as they could, just as the older people. Some limped, barely being able to hold themselves up, some were carried and some sat beside the old street, waiting for others to come back and help them get into the destroyed walls of the city.

Bella turned around and blinked the tears away. Why hadn’t she just stopped the dragon? It would’ve taken only one blow, but of course she had missed it. Looking over to the rest of the company she noticed their sad looks. They were probably feeling the same thing as she did. Probably every single one wanted nothing more than go down there and invite them in, provide them the shelter they needed, giving them supply they needed.

Every single one except Thorin. He just stood there, eyes hard and cold, staring down to the once great city.

Finally Bella couldn’t take the silence anymore. Carefully she walked over to him and slowly laid a hand on his shoulder. “Thorin. We-“

As if her touch had made him wake up he suddenly moved again. “Seal the gate. They will want to invade us tomorrow.”

Everyone hesitated until slowly the first ones started moving, climbing down to the hole in the gate. Nobody wanted to argue with Thorin, nobody dared to object his orders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yes, totally forgot! I wish you all a merry christmas and stuff :D


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have the two scenes that broke everyones heart and just because I can I made it even worse :D ... oh god, why did I do that? q.q
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all guys had a nice whatever you are celebrating and stuff! See you in 2015 :D

Bella pulled the coat closer around her body. It was cold, it seemed to grow colder in the mountain with each hour and she couldn’t stop shivering. A few snowflakes danced around her as she made her way through the dark paths, searching for some warmer clothes.

After she’d raised a thick wall of ice on Thorins command in the hole of the front gate the others were now supporting it with a wall of stone, sealing it completely from the outside world. This was wrong, this was so wrong. Why was Thorin sealing out those who needed their help? Those who had nothing left and were relying on their help?

She sat down and rubbed her arms. She knew she’d lost unnaturally much weight, there still was enough to cover all the bones, but she felt like skin and bones. Mostly due to their small amount of food they still had left. By now it wasn’t more than a few breads and maybe some ham, but that was far from enough to feed thirteen dwarves and a hobbit for several days or how long they would be stuck in here.

Another chill ran down her body and she couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering. Ice formed quietly around her feet, but didn’t spread further. Oh how she longed to be in the Shire right now. She would sit in front of her furnace with a book and a pipe and just have a relaxed evening.

Her hand slid into her pocket and she closed her fingers around the smooth surface. With a sigh she closed her eyes and leaned back, allowing herself to rest for a moment.

“What do you have there?” The sudden voice made her jump to her feet and reach for her sword.

“Thorin… Don’t scare me like that.”

“What is in your hand?” He grabbed for her wrist.

Almost scared she took a step back and slowly pulled her hand out of her pocket and opened it for Thorin to see.

There was an acorn lying in her palm. A simple, unordinary acorn which shell reflected the lights from the torches.

Thorin made a sound like a huff and stepped back a little to give Bella some space. “An acorn.”

“Yes…” Carefully she closed her fingers around it again, afraid to lose it. “I picked it up in Beorns garden. I figured it will grow into a nice Oak.” A smile crossed her features and she dared to peek to Thorin. His gaze was relaxed now, his eyes sparkling for the first time in days. “So when I get back home, I will find a nice place to plant it and hope for the best.”

“Home?” Thorins smile dropped. “You want to leave?”

Immediately Bella realized what she just said. “No! I mean… There are things to take care of back there. After all I just ran out of my house into the blue. I didn’t even lock my door.” She meant to smirk but suddenly another chill hit her and she whimpered quietly as she threw her arms around her in a sorry attempt to get some warmth.

“Are you alright?” Thorin slowly pulled her into his arms.

“Cold.” She merely whispered and closed her eyes.

Thorins brows knitted as he pulled her back a bit and laid his hands on her cheeks. “Mahal, your skin is so cold.”

“It always is, I thought you had learned that by now.” Bella replied unimpressed.

“No, it’s colder than usual.” Quickly he took off his coat and laid it around her. “You need warmer clothes.” With ease he lifted her into his arms and carried her down the path.

“Thorin, I can walk on my own.” Bella mumbled, but didn’t dare to protest any further. She just was glad that Thorin was somehow back to his usual stubborn self, at least for now.

 

 

“I promise - As soon as there is no threat anymore, as soon as Erebor is back to its former glory, you shall be my wife and queen.” Silently Thorin kissed Bella and put a beautiful diamond ring on her finger. “I promise.” He repeated and smiled.

The Hobbit smiled too and ran her hand over the soft sparkling blue on her ring finger. “And you shall be my king.” She looked at him and snuggled closer to him.

“Belladonna Oakenshield, Queen of Erebor.” Thorin laughed. “It sounds wonderful.” Again he kissed her. “Are you cold? Do you need another blanket?”

She shook her head and grinned. “I think you’ve heated me up enough for now.”

“Tell me if you’re feeling cold again.” With a grin he let his hand glide over her naked pelvis and pinched her flesh softly.

Laughing Bella shook her head and sat up. “You dwarves are impossible.”

“Yet you’re still in the same bed with me.”

“Yes. Because you just tore my clothes off me and haven’t given me any new so far.”

Thorin sat up and kissed her cheek. “Stay here for a while and sleep. I will come again later.”

Thankful Bella smiled and laid back down, snuggling into the layers of blankets and drifting off into a deep sleep. She couldn’t help but to grin when she caught a piece of naked dwarf through her half closed eyes.

 

 

Bella was woken by Ori after what felt like minutes, yet she felt more refreshed than last time.

He was shaking her shoulder so softly, she almost feared she would go straight back to sleep from the soft rocking. “Bella. Bella, wake up.”

She groaned. “Yeees… I’m awake.” Careful that it wasn’t too obvious that she wore nothing under the blankets she sat up. Rubbing her eyes she noticed the clothes lying on the bed. Many clothes. Many warm clothes. Very good.

“Should I wait outside or do you think you’ll cope with that?”

“I should be fine, thank you.”

The young dwarf nodded and left the room. “I will wait outside. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will, thanks Ori.” As soon as the door was closed Bella separated the pile of clothes and eventually figured out what to put on first.

After two layers she knew it was a dwarfish dress and after three layers she already felt warmer than in her former clothes. Finally she closed the belt right under her breast and put the thick coat on. Now she was warmer than ever.

Ori sat right outside the room and stood up when he heard the door open. “Wow, Bella you look beautiful!”

Blushing she closed the door behind her. “Thank you.”

“Come. Thorin said he wants to see you.”

They walked through the dark paths in silence until Bella dared to ask what had happened in the meantime. Ori bit his lip and looked to the ground. “Well, it appears there’s an army of elves in Dale now. And Thorin still won’t provide them shelter or any of his promised reward for their help.” He said quietly.

“But… they’ve got nothing left. Why would he be so heartless?”

“I wish I could tell you.” Ori sighed and his shoulders dropped.

“I will talk to him.” Bella tried to smile encouraging.

They continued to walk in silence until they reached a chamber that resembled an armoury. The whole company was assembled here, roaming through the room, picking up every armour they could find and helping each other putting it on. She didn’t need much knowledge of such matters to understand what was going on here. Preparations for war. Her stomach dropped and she had to fight back tears.

“Bella.” Thorin was already in full armour, standing by the door. He held something in his hands.

“Thorin.” She did her best to smile, not to show her heartache. He was really going to sacrifice all their lives for gold. Cold, worthless gold.

“Look at you. You look wonderful.” He smiled and kissed her forehead.

“Thorin… Don’t you think this is going a bit too far?” she asked carefully.

He ignored her and simply held something that looked like a shirt to the upper part of her body. As she looked down she realized it was like a chain mail, yet it seemed so thin…

“Mithril. No blade will ever cut through this.”

“That… is nice. But Thorin-“

“Put it on.” He held it to her.

Unsure what to say Bella slowly started to take off the outer layers of the dress until she was shivering in the undergarment. Quickly she put on the chain mail and was surprised at its weight. She barely noticed it, it was even lighter than her coat had been.

As Thorin helped her back into the dress he whispered to her. “No matter what happens, don’t leave the mountain.”

Bella looked at him surprised. “Why?”

Suddenly his hands were at her shoulders, his face only inches from hers and her back against the wall. “Somebody is deceiving me. I can’t trust anybody.”

“Thorin…?”

“Somebody took it. Somebody took the arkenstone. I know it.” He muttered.

Bella felt her mouth go dry. Well… at least he didn’t suspect her. That was something, wasn’t it? She wanted to say something, just not making herself suspicious, but her frantic beating heart made it impossible to think clearly.

Slowly his hands left her shoulder and Thorin took a step back. “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you? My Queen…”

Immediately she shook her head. “No! Never…”

He smiled and took her hand, running his fingers over her ring. “Of course. You would never lie to me.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys should look at this awesome picture JazWaz01 made for me: http://kyoko-rei.deviantart.com/art/Bella-fanfic-502676401  
> Thank you sooo much! This makes me so happy!

Maybe the ice stairs from the gates were a bit too obvious. Maybe her sudden escape from the mountain after the conversation with Thorin was obvious too. But Bella didn’t care.

Sneaking away from a sleeping dwarf had been almost too easy for her. They really were sleeping like rocks. Maybe that was why they loved them so much. She had also heard rumours about Dwarfs eating rocks. This couldn’t be healthy.

All the gates around Dale were guarded with elfish archers and Bella could image a better death than being shot because they thought she was an enemy. Which she definitely wasn’t.

Luckily she found a small hole in the wall through which she crawled and got into the city unseen.

On every corner a fire was lit, under destroyed roofs children and mothers slept uneasy and many men were walking around in improvisational armour, swords on their belt. They were ready for war too. This just kept getting worse and worse…

Unseen Bella crept through the city, in hope to find who she was looking for. She had Sting with her, but her letter opener wouldn’t be much of a help against swords longer than her body, so she kept in the shadows, trusting her height and quiet feet to get her safely to her destination.

Finally she found a big tent and sighed in relieve when she heard a familiar voice from inside. The guards didn’t notice her sneaking past, or maybe they just didn’t see any threat in her.

Thranduil saw her first, he stopped talking suddenly and his eyes pierced right into her. The other two, surprised about his sudden reaction looked to her too.

Bard simply looked confused, staring at her as if she had grown a second head.

Gandalf chuckled with pure relief on his face. “Belladonna! I’m so glad to see you.” He kneeled down and hugged her carefully. “You don’t look very good, my dear…” His brows furrowed and caressed the pale scar she had received in Mirkwood.

“I’m afraid I have to say the same for you.” Bella smiled a bit. “Where were you? You left so suddenly and we have heard nothing from you and-“

Gandalf sighed and rose again. “I know. I’m afraid I was very busy.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Why are you here?” His face became stern again.

Without a word Bella pulled out a bundle of fabric and laid it on a table. As she opened it, it revealed a pure light and the tent seemed to hold its breath.

Thranduil slowly rose from his seat. “The arkenstone.” He breathed and slowly came closer. Then his gaze suddenly returned to her. “Where did you get this?”

Bella stared to the ground. “I took it.” When nobody said anything she quickly added. “As the share of the treasure I was promised.”

“Then what shall we do with it?” Bard asked, crossing his arms.

“Thorin wants this more than anything.” She gulped quietly. “He surely will trade anything you wish against this.”

“How can you be sure of this?” Thranduil sat back down, not looking very impressed.

“Because he told me.” It wasn’t quite the truth, but neither was it a lie. It grew silent once again until the elven king called a guard to him and gave him orders. Then he rose. “We will ride to the gates at dawn.”

 

 

The night was cold and quiet. The calm before the storm.

Gandalf sat on a low wall and stared unseeing into the night. He hadn’t lied when he’d said he’d been busy. The whole time he’d been travelling. Back to Imladris, to Lothlorien, to Gondor and finally to Isengard, in search for help.

At first he had tried searching for written down sources, but there was nothing. Neither had there been any gossip or rumour found.

When finally all his hopes were almost lost he’d started praying. Praying for answers as he thought, but mainly praying for help. He knew Bella’s time was running out. The powers were growing and maybe she was able to control them now, but not for very much longer. Sooner or later they would overwhelm her and then she would be past saving.

Blindly he lit his pipe and blew the grey smoke into the night.

Eventually he had found out something. Buried deep in the archives of Isengard. A single paper, proving Melian hadn’t been the only one.

A female one, in the service of Orome. After the war of Wrath she went missing and wasn’t found until she returned to Valinor in the early third age. She never talked about her time in Middle Earth and nobody bothered her with it.

Theron, a female Maia disguising herself as a male Hobbit. Gandalf laughed quietly. Who could’ve known such things could happen?

The laugh froze on his face and he turned to where Bella was sleeping on an old, broken bed. She shivered slightly, like from a cold night breeze, but the wind was absolutely still tonight.

Maybe she had believed nobody would notice it, or maybe she had just forgotten about the diamond ring on her finger. It was obvious more than another part of her share of the treasure.

Gandalf stood up and laid his coat over her blanket. He stood there for another moment, looking quietly down to her before he returned to his place by the window.

After his discovery in Isengard he’d sent a dove to Imladris with his results and asking for further help. It meant nothing at first glance, but it was enough for Gandalf to hope again. Maybe not everything was lost yet.

On the other hand there was Thorin, deep lost within his sickness and not willing to keep his promise. If it really was as bad as Bella had described it, war was inescapable.

What was that foolish dwarf thinking? An army of elves and a bunch of very angry people against thirteen dwarves? This was madness.

With a sigh Gandalf took off his hat and leaned back. As long as things didn’t get worse than in the first age, what could go wrong?

 

 

“Bella! We were looking for you the whole night! Where were you?” Dwalin looked angry when he approached her.

Immediately she froze and tried to smile. “I couldn’t sleep. So I wanted to take a stroll but got lost…” She shrugged and looked to the ground. At least one part was true.

“Then you’re damn lucky to have found your way back again.” Dwalin put a hand behind her shoulder and led her to the gate, where the rest of the company was assembled.

Bofur noticed her as soon as she left the stairs. “Bella! Am I glad to see you. We were worried you were lost somewhere in the mountain.”

“I actually was. But luckily I found my way back.” She smiled and tried to hide her nervousness as she saw the elven army before the gates. Sneaking away when she wasn’t supposed to seemed to become an unhealthy habit of hers lately. Before the first rays of sunlight she’d sneaked out of the city again and back to the mountain. It would be better if Thorin didn’t know that she’d given the arkenstone to Thranduil.

On the way back to the mountain she quickly had invented the story how she had gotten lost during a night stroll. It was impossible not to believe her this because the mountain was huge. A single wrong turn and you could be gone forever.

Thorin looked at her for a few moments, before his brain seemed to realize that his fiancée was standing in front of him. If he realized it at all.

All she got was kiss on the forehead and a mumbled. “We were looking for you all night.”

Yearning for his warm skin she leaned in for a hug, but suddenly Thorin’s body was gone again and she heard him call: “There’s no use for this, elf.”

Slowly she fought her way back to real life and turned to see that Thranduil was now before the gates, beside him Bard.

“We do not wish to harm anyone. We are here for a trade.” Bard called and reached inside the pocket of his torn coat.

“For what do you think I would trade anything in this mountain?” Thorin’s laugh was almost scoffing.

Bards hand came forth and in it lay a brightly shining gem. “How about this?”

In this second everybody seemed to hold his breath. There were a few gasps and whispers in the company and Thorins hands clenched into fists. Silence stretched longer with each passing heartbeat until suddenly Thorins fists slowly relaxed and he started to laugh.

Everybody stared at him either confused or worried.

“You’re so pathetic. Do you really think you could deceive me with such a trick?” Thorin picked up a stone and was ready to throw it when Bella suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t! It’s real!”

Slowly, very slowly Thorin sank his arm and turned his head to her. On his face a mixture of disbelieve and disappointment.

“What?” he asked quietly.

Bella couldn’t hold his gaze any longer and looked to the ground, carefully releasing his wrist. “I’m sorry. I took it and gave it to them. Thorin, don’t you see what you’re doing? What you’re becoming?” She had to blink away her tears and felt a chill creep along her spine. She flinched slightly when his hand brushed over her shoulder, pushing back a strand of hair.

For a tiny second she actually believed that he wouldn’t be mad at her, that he understood, that this nightmare would be over. This tiny, tiny flicker of hope was smashed brutally when she suddenly was pushed backwards and strong hands wrapped around her throat, cutting of all air and making her gasp like a fish on land.

From then on everything went over into a blur. Thorin screaming, something hitting her lower spine and pain shooting through her body, the surface under her desperate hands suddenly going cold and slippery, somebody calling something and finally the pressure on her throat stopped.

She dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes and gasped for air. Hands on her back urgently guided her away from Thorin and to the ice stairs.

In the end she fell more than actually walked it down, but when she felt Gandalfs arms wrap around her body she finally allowed herself to weep, from the pain of her heart or the pain of her body, she did not know.

There was only one word she heard from above and it was enough to make her heart shatter into a thousand pieces.

“ _War_.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the best chapter... hope you like it anyway ^^

There was something that worried Gandalf greatly from the small figure in his arms. She was clearly awake, eyes wide open, breath deep and steady and strong heartbeat, yet she only seemed half conscious.

She barely reacted, if she reacted at all. She clearly understood as he was talking to her, yet she didn’t answer.

It was hard to focus on both, the happenings around him and taking care of the Hobbit. He felt the ground under his feet almost shaking from the approaching army and as he looked up he saw it too. Dwarves. An army of dwarves came down the hill, led by what could only be Daîn, Thorins cousin.

So that was why Thorin had refused to give up his stronghold. He had known that he would come at his call. If you could count on one thing it was the loyalty of dwarves.

Silently Gandalf listened to the conversation and figured he was glad to have only heard of Daîn so far. Even Thorin was more reasonable. Not to mention he’d just called Thranduil ‘pretty forest fairy’.

But then suddenly he got distracted, something else happened. The ground was shivering, as if something was disturbing it, as if something was _eating_ through it. Cradling the hobbit closer to his body he narrowed his eyes slightly and prepared for whatever might come.

 

 

The halls of Erebor were just as glorious as Thorin remembered. The ceiling out of sight as it was towering towards the sky, the rich decorations entwining around the heavy columns, the symbol of his family hanging high where it belonged.

Thorin breathed out slowly. This was it. This was what he’d dreamed about all those sleepless nights since the day the dragon had come. This and nothing else.

He’d done what he’d promised his people. Reclaimed their homeland and slayed the dragon. Now all of what was rightfully his truly belonged to him. Mountains of gold, a treasure with no limits.

His footsteps echoed silently in the large hall as he walked with an iron gaze. Finally everything was alright and this damned Hobbit, _that burglar_ , had taken his most precious treasure from him. She had stolen the kings jewel. His jewel! A growl escaped his throat and he stopped walking.

He should have thrown her off the mountain when he had the chance. His gaze wandered to his feet. Gold. The ground was made of solid gold, reflecting his golden armour and crown. For a long time he just stood there and stared at his own reflection. For a second he believed to see a smaller figure next to himself, white-brown locks gently falling around her sweet face.

Slowly his features dropped and he quickly turned around. Nothing but his imagination. He smacked it away like a nasty fly.

But as he turned around there suddenly was fire. His breath was stuck in his throat as he saw a white warg making his way towards him. He couldn’t move, his body seemed frozen to the stop. Suddenly the warg stopped and a figure stepped between them. Her hair looked like gold in the fiery light.

Again Thorin quickly turned around, his heart unknowingly beating fast within his chest. His imagination. Nothing but his imagination.

He tried to run, but suddenly the ground gave in under him. He tried to scream as he saw a long red tail passing by. This was not possible! The dragon was dead and the mountain was his! The head turned to him and the dragon seemed to sneer.

Quickly Thorin stood up again and tried to get out of the hole, but the gold was too smooth, there was nothing to hold on to. Pleading he looked up, only to be met with the cold gazes of his company. They all stood there, staring down at him, faces hard. And slowly, one by one, they all left.

Thorin closed his eyes and turned around, facing the dragon. It didn’t bother to play its game on him. Thorin screamed as the teeth closed around him.

Panting he fell to the floor. The hall was silent, the ground under him solid. Was he really going crazy? Was this what everyone had tried to protect him from? A chocked sob escaped his throat. What was he doing? What was he becoming?

_Thorin._ Slowly he dared to look up and saw her gently smiling face. Her hair was braided, a small crown sat upon her brow and the ring sparkled on her finger. _Are you alright?_

He felt her hands on his cheeks and she kneeled before him. He nodded quietly. “You’re not real.” His voice was hoarse and it hurt to talk.

She merely smiled and laid her hands on her grown belly.

“Bella…” he sobbed and reached towards her, but when his hands touched her she disappeared into thin air. Finally the tears dropped out of his eyes and silently on the gold. Cold, worthless gold.

 

 

Outside of the mountain it was chaos. Bodies upon bodies on the cold ground, swords, axes and arrows piercing into skin, tearing bodies apart. Screams, growls and groans filling the air. And everywhere the stench of freshly shed blood.

Gandalf did his best to keep the orcs away from him, yet with only one free hand and a hobbit in his arms it wasn’t that easy. Since the arriving of the army he tried to go escape the battlefield and look for a safe spot where he could care for Bella.

Her silent whimpers had stopped some time ago and her breath slowly became shallow. There had been no time before to examine her for any injuries Thorin might have caused her. And now Gandalf worried he should have hurried and done so.

Maybe she hit her head, maybe the impact with the wall had hurt her spine, maybe Thorin had hurt her neck. A thousand fears alongside with memories crossed his mind as he separated an orc from its head. He had seen a lot of nasty injuries and their outcome. He knew he better should hurry to get to a safe place.

Finally the area cleared a bit and the wizard dared to start running and not caring about the orcs anymore. Heading towards the ruins of Dale he put his sword back to his belt and held the small body closer to his own.

Bella indeed seemed to be smaller than he remembered, so small and vulnerable, so fragile in his arms. As he reached the gates there was a blaring noise and suddenly a rock smashed into the wall. The city was under attack too.

Gandalf huffed and looked over his shoulder, even though he already knew there were orcs coming. Soon the city would be overrun. This was far from a safe place Gandalf had looked for.

Not daring to overthink his decision he ran to the next ruin while wrapping Bella into his coat. He carefully laid her down under a fallen stone and as he unsheathed his sword started to pray that no orc would find her.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say I love you guys :D ...

If there was one thing Thorin had learned in front of the gates of Khazad-dûm, it was that war wasn’t about who was right or wrong, it was about who was stronger and who would be left when the dust settled. And he planned to be the one left. That meant no thinking, no reflecting upon his action, simply killing whatever he could.

He had killed enough in his life to know not to have pity with the orcs. They were worth nothing, they didn’t mean anything to anyone and no one would grieve for them.

Crouching down from an axe aiming for his head he thrust his sword forwards and right through the orc. Setting his foot on its chest he pulled his weapon out again and half split a head form another orc coming towards him.

The blaring signal to attack the city fell upon deaf ears for him. He had a mountain to protect and a fiancée to find.

Eventually he spotted the infamous grey hat and fought his way to it. “Gandalf!” he called over the noise of the battle and the wizard actually heard him.

“Thorin.” It was far from friendly. “Is there any particular reason you crawled out of your mountain?”

The dwarf chose to ignore what probably should be an insult. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“You know exactly who I am talking about!”

There was no answer, only another dead orc dropping to the ground, followed by a second and by a third.

“Gandalf!”

“She is safe for now, you don’t need to know any more.”

Furiously Thorin turned around and crossed swords with the wizard. “Where is she?” he hissed.

“You shouldn’t do that, Thorin.”

“Just tell me where she is!”

Gandalf simply looked to the city of Dale, now overrun by orcs and trolls. Thorin followed his gaze and felt his breath stop for a moment. Not even looking at the wizard once more he started running and fighting his way towards the ruins.

 

 

The battle was ongoing for what felt like endless hours, slowly the lines cleared and everybody got tired, their movements becoming slower and heavier. Many had fallen and the ground was muddy from all the shed blood.

Even though his whole body ached Thorin fought his way over the meadow. There had been too many orcs in Dale, but somehow he had gotten the promise from Bard that, in case anyone would find her, they would take her to the towns hall were children and women were already assembled.

Now he was on his way back towards the mountain. He needed to find someone to come with him. During a few seconds break he had allowed himself, he had seen the leader of the army, Azog, on the top of a nearby rocky hill.

If they cut off the head of the snake, the rest would cripple. Finally he made out familiar faces in the crowd. “Fili! Kili! Dwalin!” They didn’t hear him until he was right beside them.

“Uncle!” His nephews almost jumped at him, Dwalin looked very reliefed to see him alive. The battle had been long enough, there surely were victims everywhere. Even gladder was he to see at least three of his company alive.

“I need you to come with me.” He pointed to the rocky hill. They understood and followed him. A nearly satisfied feeling spread in Thorins stomach, finally he would get his revenge. Finally he could separate this miserable orc from his head.

 

 

As clear and bloodthick the air had been on the battlefield, as cold and foggy was it up here on the rocky hills. And it was quiet, as if the mist had swallowed every sound escaping the battle beneath them.

Thorin could hear his own heart beating against his chest, almost pounding in his head. Up here somewhere was the head of the snake, Azog. He wanted nothing more than to finally see him dead.

As they ran up another set of stairs suddenly they were greeted by dead bodies. Orcs. Lying around on the frozen river, surrounded by uneven ice that seemed to grow out of the river.

There was no communication needed that everyone knew they weren’t natural. And they all knew whose doing this was.

For some seconds nobody moved until Kili set out something that sounded like a chocked sob and would’ve collapsed if his brother hadn’t caught him.

Thorin suddenly moved again, walking slowly to one of the dead orcs. It was lying on his back, eyes wide open and unseeing, a layer of ice over his face. But Thorin didn’t care about this, his focus was on the clutched fist.

Kneeling down he broke away the frozen fingers and revealed a bloody piece of fabric, along with a small sparkling ring. It felt as if his own breath wanted to choke him while carefully picked up the ring. Tears prickled in his eyes, he quickly closed them, but still a stinging cold ran down his cheek.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up. It was Dwalin, head bowed. “’m sorry.”

Thorin simply looked back at the ring in his palm. For a few seconds his shaking breath was the loudest noise around until suddenly he breathed. “No.” With weak feeling knees he stood up and closed his fingers around the ring as if it was a fragile bloom. “No...”

Another few seconds passed in silence until suddenly Fili cried out: “Archers!” Just in time before the first arrows fell. One or two hit the dwarves, but luckily they all recoiled on the chainmail, giving them the change to run for cover.

It took Thorin a few more seconds than usual to focus on the situation, but finally he started shouting orders at his nephews and they quickly obeyed, running off. If there were that many archers up here, another army wasn’t far. The others needed to be warned.

“Dwalin.” Thorin breathed as he watched his nephews running back towards the battlefield.

“What is it?”

“You have to find her.”

Dwalin didn’t say anything for a few seconds. If Bella had run into the other army, the chance that she was still alive was zero. “Thorin…”

The other dwarf grabbed his shoulder a bit too hard. “You have to.” He trembled.

He wanted to argue, but it was no use. If he didn’t promise him he would find her, Thorin would never be able to defeat Azog since his thoughts would be somewhere else. So he nodded. “Trust me.”

A tiny smile flickered across Thorin’s features before he suddenly turned and ran to where he’d seen the orc last.

 

 

The hills were empty, the peak of the rocks abandoned. Thorin clutched his sword in his hand, forcing his breath and heartbeat down to hear well. The silence was defeating up here, the cold wind chilling to the bone. They had to be somewhere up here. They had to! They couldn’t just disappear from a place like this.

Frantic he looked around, looked behind every rock. There was nobody left on the peak.

He was standing alone, alone on a peak with no shelter.

If he’d realized it only a second later the following arrows would’ve hit him. Throwing himself to the ground he could hear them flying right over his head and a laugh from somewhere. Rage gripped his heart tightly as he recognized the voice of Azog.

He should’ve known this was a trap. Crawling towards, as low as he could he made his way towards the edge. He needed to get off the peak. As fast as possible. But there was no way. He couldn’t make out where the archers were and he had no chance to get up from the ground without the high risk of getting shot. His only chance to survive this was staying down and hoping the archers would go away eventually.

Suddenly a shadow loomed over him and as he turned his head he saw Azog smirk cruelly down to him. “Oakenshield. So pitiful on the ground, just like your grandfather.” He laughed and kicked hard on his wrist.

Thorin screamed as he felt the bone shatter. His hand went limp and the sword fell to the ground. Another kick against his head made his vision swim, his body refusing any command from his head as Azog lifted him by his throat into the air. Such an easy prey for archers.

Desperate Thorin struggled to break free, yet his limps only twitched slightly. A painful groan escaped him as the first arrow dug into his leg, a second one in his hip.

Defeated he closed his eyes, only praying they would make it quick and spare him from much pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....now, who wants to kill me? :D


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is everyone alright? Everyone's feeling fine?  
> Good, because after this chapter you won't anymore *insert evil laugh*
> 
> *quickly hides under table*

Later Thorin would say he didn’t remember much what happened after the second arrow had hit him. Only few knew it was a plain lie. He remembered everything of what happened after the second arrow had hit him. And he wished he remembered nothing.

Suddenly the whole world spun again and he fell to the ground with a grunt, not daring and not able to move. There were fighting sounds. Weapons clashing together, metal against metal. No arrows anymore. What happened to the archers?

Slowly Thorin hauled himself on the back and recognized his saviour. It was Dwalin, facing off Azog with his war axes. For a second Thorin got mad that his youth friend was here, but then he realized once again that he’d just saved his life.

Struggling to sit and pulling himself up on a rock Thorin finally managed to stand, his right hand held close to his chest. Dizzy and nauseous he had to lean against a rock and watch helplessly as Dwalin was pushed back further and further by Azog.

Finally Thorin had pulled himself together enough to reach for his sword, still lying on the ground. But as he looked up again there suddenly was an ugly, wet noise. His breath got stuck in his throat as he watched Azog pulling his sword out of Dwalins leg and pushing him backwards.

His body fell from the rocks and out of sight.

A burning hot flame spread in his chest to every little inch of his body. Pain and injury forgotten Thorin gripped his sword tightly in his left hand and roared in fury, launching himself on the orc. Azog actually looked seemed surprised at his reaction, hitting the ground with a grunt. Still he managed to block the uncoordinated sword hits from Thorin and threw him back on the ground.

Both on all fours now they fought and almost bickered like children. Finally Thorin managed to kick him in his face that he fell backwards, close to the edge now. Taking advantage of the situation the dwarf stood up and aimed with his foot for the orc on the ground again. The kicks were weak and uncoordinated, but they did what they need to and satisfied Thorin watched how Azog fell down the rocks and stayed on the ground.

For a moment Thorin wanted the gnawing exhaustion and pain to take over again, but then he remembered Dwalin. Dropping his sword he dragged himself to where he knew his friend had fallen down. He didn’t dare to look on the ground, just somehow made his way down, multiple times nearly passing out from pain. But he clenched his teeth and finally collapsed to his knees next to the shallow breathing figure.

“Good to see you old boy.” Dwalin whispered weakly. Desperate Thorin ripped some of his coat and tied it around the others leg as tight as possible with only one hand. There was an arrow in his shoulder too, too close to the throat.

“Why were you even there?” he mumbled more to himself than an actual question.

“Couldn’t let you go alone. Too dangerous.”

“You talking about too dangerous. Didn’t think this day would ever come.”

Dwalin actually smiled at that, but then his features turned pained again.

“What happened to the archers?”

“Took ‘em down. Mostly. You should go ahead. Don’t think that fall killed Azog.”

“Why?”

“Cause he’s limping right towards you.”

Thorin turned his head and truly, the pale orc still was alive, mighty tattered, yet still alive. And he was coming right towards him, murderous lust in his eyes.

With a painful groan Thorin fought himself back to his feet and allowed himself to take one of the axes. The arrows burned like fervour on skin and he could feel bone fragments digging into flesh from inside his wrist. Still he stood, bracing himself for another fight, even ready to die if he needed to.

But suddenly Azog froze. Literally. Ice spread under his feet, slowly crawling up his legs, pinning him to the place. The orc roared in fury and hit the ice with his weapons, yet every time something broke free it seemed to grow back immediately. As the unusual plant reached his waist Thorin took his chance and approached the slayer of his grandfather.

“Now you will pay.” He growled, though he knew he couldn’t be taken seriously in his state. Still he couldn’t help but to disport himself for a second at the fear in his eyes as he cut his head off with a single hit.

 

Exhaustion took over as Thorin watched Azogs head rolling ever slower and finally coming to rest on the ice. His knees would’ve given in, yet the sight of a small figure a little way down the river made him gain the upper hand over his body. He dragged himself more forwards than actually walking. Still he made it to his destination and dropped on the ice, breathing heavily.

His hand trembled as he took hers and held it to his chest. “Bella?” he whispered, afraid there wouldn’t be an answer. Her hand was so cold…

Nevertheless her eyes opened slightly and she managed a weak smile. “Still not really a warrior, am I?” she muttered.

“I don’t care.” Thorin sobbed silently as he laid his hands on her cheeks. She was cold, so cold… Without hesitating he took off his coat and laid it around her, cradling her close to him. Bella whimpered slightly when her body was moved and Thorin did his best to comfort her.

“What were you doing up here? Gandalf said you were in Dale.”

“I was. But I had to help somehow.”

“You foolish hobbit… you could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“Yet I didn’t.” She started trembling out of sudden and her skin paled even more.

“Bella? Bella! Come on, stay with me.” If he could Thorin would’ve laughed at his own comment. His own eyelids felt heavy, it was getting harder to breath.

“Look who’s talking.” The sound escaping her lips sounded like a chuckle, but it could also have been a weak cough. She was probably right, he was close to passing out too.

Thorin didn’t even realize how he slowly sank to the ground, Bella still in his arms.

“Thorin…” The Hobbit whispered weakly after some moments of silence.

It took him longer than he would admit until he realized Bella had been talking to him. “Yes?”

“Why?” There probably would’ve been a proper question, if she had the strength which she didn’t. The fear and sadness in her eyes were enough to know what she wanted to know.

Thorin hesitated. Long. “I’m sorry.” He breathed, but had to realize that Bellas eyes were already closed. Panic overcame him and he shook her slightly. “Come on. Don’t do this to me. Bella! Wake up.” He tried to sit up again, yet his body didn’t obey.

A cry was heard, something he knew from a distant memory. As a shadow passed over him he remembered. “The eagles… The eagles are here. Please, Bella, they will get us out of here. We will be alright, I promise.” The last word left a bitter taste on his tongue. How many times had he promised and how many times had he broken it? He sobbed, feeling tears gather in his eyes. “You will be alright…” There was no time to see his tear falling on Bellas cheek and turning to ice immediately. Thorin simply collapsed and finally let the fatigue overcome him.


	26. Chapter 26

As bad as things seemed in a battle, nothing compared to what happened when the dust settled. That was one of the things everybody learned with their first battle.

But no matter how many battles some eyes had seen, nobody ever got used to the sight of dead bodies piling up on the bloody fields. Friends and family gathered together, crying over the fallen.

A camp was already more or less settled in front of the gates of the mountain, those who were still standing brought in the wounded. The most serious chases were brought into the tents where elven healers tended their wounds. Those with only smaller injuries had to stay outside and be satisfied by the help of ordinary health care.

Gandalf strayed through the camp wearily. So many dead. So many lives lost.

His heart ached at the thought of the dead dwarves and those still missing. Kili had gotten a huge portion of his own medicine, he’d run straight into an archers trap. He was in one of the tents right now. Fili was with him, he had gotten lucky with only a few cuts and a concussion from being knocked out briefly with a stone. Bombur and Bofur had made it out with a few broken bones and some cuts, nothing serious for them, yet their cousin Bifur was still missing. Oin had made it to the camp too and was now busy treating the lesser wounded.

The rest was still missing or probably just dead.

Feeling the weight of ages upon his shoulders Gandalf sat down and stared into the sinking sun. He’d gone back to Dale to pick up Bella again, but she hadn’t been there anymore. Only few claimed to have seen her, yet nobody had been able to tell him where she had been heading to.

Three eagles came flying down from the nearby hills, as they touched the ground each an elf jumped from their backs, carrying small figures towards the tents in great hurry.

The wizard felt his heart leap as he recognized a tangled mess of white brown locks. As fast as he could he jumped to his feet and followed the elves, arriving at the tent just as the three figures were laid down on the improvised beds.

Dwalin was the only one still conscious, more or less at least. His eyes were open and he mumbled something at the sight of the wizard before an elfish healer pushed him aside to examine the dwarf.

Thorin was already far away, he barely reacted to anything but at least his breath seemed stable.

Bella however was another matter. Her skin was pale, almost the colour of ice, and just as cold. Quickly Gandalf took every unused blanket he could find and basically buried her under them. After that he closed his eyes and started to pray.

 

 

With night hope fell. More and more dead were brought outside and the piles grew. Some already alit; there wasn’t time or space for a proper grave for all the victims. There would be a memorial for them some day.

Being the closest kin to the king Fili was put in charge of the mountain and immediately opened the gates. Fires were lit in the great halls and all those who still could walk or at least were in the state to be carried were brought inside.

Since the sun had disappeared into the west the temperatures dropped without stopping. Snow fell ever thicker and covered the ground like an innocent blanket, hiding the cruelty beneath. One didn’t need wisdom or much knowledge to notice that a winter this early and cold wasn’t natural. Yet also almost nobody knew the cause of it.

“Mithrandir.” An elf approached the wizard who still sat outside the remaining camp. “Your presence is requested.”

“I refuse, thank you.” He mumbled and didn’t even turn his head to face the elf.

“Mithrandir, _King Thranduil_ requests your presence immediately.”

“I still refuse.”

The elf bit his lower lip, not knowing how to react; he wasn’t use to these kinds of answers.

“Better go inside, it will get colder.” Gandalf peeked over his shoulder at the elf. As he expected he was a younger one. “Tell your king if he needs to see me this urgently, I’m here.”

After some hesitating the elf bowed slightly and went back inside.

Gandalf huffed and turned around again. For some moments he sat in silence and stared to the battlefield where the piles of dead bodies burned. He tipped his head back and looked to the stars. He knew every single one of them, knew their stories and the signs. But now they were covered by thick black clouds.

With a sigh he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. So many years spent in Middle Earth, so many years and yet at this very moment his wisdom failed. He could try to save her, but that would mean breaking his oath. What he needed was a miracle.

 

 

 

It was the third night when the light snowfall turned into a great storm which threatened to swallow everything and the temperatures were beyond freezing. Firewood was running out as well as food, the situation got tenser by the hour. Not to mention the growing number of dead.

The sun had long since disappeared when suddenly everybody seemed to notice a growing power coming towards them.

Immediately all those able to fight were gathered and armed. They feared the worst, another attack from another army. They would be outnumbered by many, their only hope was taking advantage of the stronghold and the snow for slowing them down.

Fili was the last to arrive at the look-out over the gates. “What’s happening?” he asked breathless. Even though he was grieving for his brother, he did his best to fit in as a king as long as his uncle wasn’t able to.

“We’re being attacked.” Thranduil answered without even looking at him.

“Attacked? But by whom? I thought the armies were destroyed?”

“Something is coming.”

For a few seconds silence lasted until the sound of a horn blared through the night. Some of the elves lowered their weapons at the sound and stared into the darkness ahead with a mixture of confusion and wonder. Even Thranduil seemed to lower his guard for a few seconds, but quickly returned to his focused state.

“Stand your ground.” He called and glared at the warriors who had their weapons lowered.

“That wasn’t an orc bugle! I don’t think whatever is coming is planning to attack us.” Fili tried to talk to the elven king, but was promptly ignored.

A sound slowly formed out of the silence. It was horse hooves against the ground. A single horse. Still the elfish archers drew their bows.

Fili had never been gladder to see Gandalf seemingly appear out of nowhere and confront Thranduil. “Hold your fire! There’s no need for this!”

“What do you know of these matters?” he simply replied.

“I know more than enough, so hold your fire.”

Thranduil sighed and turned to face the wizard, but suddenly the old eyes seemed to gleam with an ancient light and the king stepped back a bit, hiding his surprise as best as he could. After some hesitation he held his hand high and the archers put the arrows down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who of you guys knows who's coming? :D


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm terribly sorry that there was no chapter yesterday! q.q For my defense, I spent all of yesterday lying in bed and sleeping... and today I'll probably do the same, so I didn't reread the chapter before uploading it. If you find any mistakes, please tell me and I will fix it as soon as possible ^^
> 
> In chase you get very confused in this chapter, there's a small explanation at the end of the chapter ^^

Not long after a figure started to become visible. The first thing they recognized was indeed a horse.

It was large, even larger than the finest breeding from Rohan, the big hooves silver grey and the fur so white it was hard to notice it in the snow. On its back sat a tall elf like figure with the finest clothes and bright piercing eyes. He seemed to glow in the darkness, a feeling of goodness seeped through everyone who looked at him.

Gandalf was the first one to react again. He ran down the stairs and shouted: “Open the gates! Open them! Quickly!”

Too confused to question him the improvised guards opened the gate just as the rider dismounted. He stepped into the halls, followed by his horse, and looked around quietly.

A bugle hung from his belt, the one they had heard earlier, and arrow and bow were strapped to his back.

Gandalf approached him quietly and bowed low when he was standing next to him. “My Lord Orome.”

The brown haired looked at him almost confused for a second before he laughed. “Olorin! Eru be with me, I almost didn’t recognize you!” He had a mighty voice, but there also was kindness in it.

The wizard chuckled at that, but quickly became stern again and started talking to him in a language unknown to all ears surrounding them. The other one sighed quietly and answered him, also in the unknown language.

Those who surrounded them started to whisper, some elves going on one knee and laying their weapons down. The dwarfs simply stared at them, as well as the men and women of Laketown.

After a short conversation the two suddenly set off and went deeper into mountain, heading for the halls.

 

 

“ _This is her_?” Orome asked, looking at the pile of blankets where the Halfling could only be guessed beneath.

They were in a small room close to the halls. In fact Bella wasn’t a patient with serious injuries, yet she could be counted as one since she hadn’t woken up since they found her.

Gandalf simply nodded and looked at him pleading. “ _You have to help her_.”

After standing still for a few seconds the brown haired started to lift the blankets until she lay free in her undergarments, already bathed and injuries bandaged. “ _Remarkable creature indeed_.” He almost chuckled before he remembered the situation and carefully laid his hands on her cheeks. “ _She’s as cold as ice_.”

“ _Can you help her or not_?” Gandalf urged carefully. “ _She’s been out for days now. I fear she won’t last any longer_.”

With a sigh Orome straightened his back and looked at him. “ _I can. But I’ve never done so before. Este would know better-_ “

“ _We don’t have time for this!_ ” Gandalf closed his eyes for a moment. “ _Please._ ” He whispered.

“ _You let one Maia out of sight for one moment and this happens… Alright, I will clean up Theron’s mess. But no more!_ ”

Gandalf simply nodded and felt the relieve making him weak. All those years with shortened power really must’ve made him weak…

Silently he observed how Orome started to mutter words in the most ancient of languages, only known to those existing before the forging of Arda, his hands starting to move, as if he was trying to move the air over her face.

For a few seconds nothing happened. But then suddenly Bella’s body jerked slightly and her mouth opened a bit, eyes moving under the closed lids. Chocking sounds escaped her throat and her upper body lifted from the bed. Just as Gandalf was about to step in a pale blue mist like substance escaped the slightly parted lips. More and more of the mist gathered over her lips, forming into a small sphere.

When the stream ended Orome’s hand trembled slightly and he quickly took the sphere between his hands, covering it completely. His eye twitched slightly, but as he took his hands apart again the mist was gone. “Give her a day or two. She will be fine.” Orome stood up a bit slower than usual.

“ _Thank you._ ” Gandalf whispered and started to cover Bella again in the blankets.

The Valar stood there for a few moments. “ _I suppose you won’t take me outside, will you?_ ”

“ _Of course!_ ”

Quickly he stood up and came along with him to the gates where Nahar, the horse of Orome, still stood and waited. As he mounted Gandalf stood silent beside him.

“ _I know what you’re about to ask and I’m sorry to disappoint you. I came here to clean up this mess- I did it. Now I have to go back, Manwe already is angry. Not to mention Namo..._ ”

“ _It’s been centuries, these people need you, they-_ “

“ _No._ ” Orome cut him off and Nahar started walking towards the gate. “ _Farewell now, Olorin._ ” He smiled as he disappeared into the night.

The snowstorm was over, the sky starlight.

 

 

Bella opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment, confused and scared. Her mind was foggy, her memory of the previous events hasty and unclear. The first thing she noticed was that she was feeling… lighter. As if something was missing inside her. Then she remembered the cold. She didn’t remember where it came from, she just remembered it seeping through her very bones and making her feel like a solid ice block. But it was gone now; her body was warm, too warm for her own liking.

A groan escaped her as she tried to move. Her whole body felt so heavy and she was so tired.

Suddenly a comfortably cool hand touched her forehead and a calming voice spoke to her: “Don’t move. It’s alright.”

She knew the voice. She had heard it before. Her brain started to recognize the face in front of her eyes slowly. “Gandalf.” She whispered.

The wizard smiled. “It’s good to see you back among the living.”

“What happened? I don’t remember…”

“You don’t need to. Not yet. Go back to sleep, you’re still exhausted.”

“There was a battle.”

Gandalf hesitated. “Yes.” Begrudgingly he helped her sit up after she had struggled for almost over a minute.

“Thorin?” She asked. Her eyes filled with tears as he didn’t answer her. “Gandalf, where’s Thorin? Is he alright?”

“He got hurt in the battle and is recovering at the moment.”

“Can you take me to him?”

“Bella my dear, you should rest and not-“

“I want to see him.” She sobbed and looked at him with begging eyes.

“Not yet.” Gandalf gave her a sad smile and stood up. “I will see if I can find something to eat for you.”

“But- Gandalf!” she called after him, but was left with no choice but to stay in the bed and wait for him. Quickly she covered her eyes to hide the tears- it didn’t stop them from falling out of her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for those who didn't read the Silmarillion: That dude called Orome that showed up in that chapter? He's one of the Valar, so basically a god as we would call them. He's got the byname 'The Hunter' and is also responsible for taking the elves to Valinor long before they even started to count the years... Yeah, kinda complicated, if you want to know the exact tale, read the book ;)  
> Este is also a Valar and responsible for healing and stuff, Manwe is one of the most powerful Valar and their king and Namo's the Valar that basically cursed all the elves that left Valinor   
> Theron is simply a OC, maybe you remember me mentioning her earlier in the story. She's a Maia, so kind of a lesser powerful being than the Valar and in their service.   
> I know Orome seems like a douche to refuse any further help, but with all the stuff that happened in the first age with all the wars... Read the book, damnit!  
> Last but not least, Olorin is Gandalfs original name while he still had been in Valinor before he'd been sent to Middle Earth, so yeah, he's a Maia too


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some feels :D

Bella had fallen asleep without even noticing it. When she woke up again she heard a soft, sad tune of a flute. It took her a few moments to recognize it.

“Bofur?” The name was but a sigh over her lips, but the moment it left them the tunes stopped and a chair was pulled closer to the bed.

“Bella?” It was a careful question. Almost as if he was afraid to have imagined her voice.

She opened her eyes and turned her head to him, smiling. The smile faded when she saw his face.

On their journey she had got to know him as the one with the never ending good mood and always a song on his lips. The Bofur sitting next to her seemed like a different person.

He looked tired and sad, yet he tried to smile at her. “Good to see you not looking like a solid ice block.”

“…Did I?”

“Long enough to give us all quite a scare.” The dwarf put the flute aside and sat down on the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know...” Bella raised her hands in front of her face and looked at them. “It’s gone… Isn’t it?”

Bofur hesitated. “Yes.”

“But how?” She dropped her hands and looked at him.

“I don’t know. Someone was here a few days ago and was in here with Gandalf for a few minutes. After that he left again. Nobody’s quite sure who he was.”

“I... thought this was a dream.”

“A dream?” He carefully helped her to sit up.

“I dreamed about a very bright figure standing by my bedside, talking in a strange language. And then suddenly the cold left me.”

“That sounds very weird…”

“I know.” Bella sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Can you tell me what happened to Thorin? Gandalf won’t say anything.”

Bofur hesitated. “I don’t think you will like this…”

A dark, chilly feeling overcame her and suddenly there was a lump in her throat. “He’s dead, isn’t he?” She sobbed quietly.

“No! No, he isn’t. He’s fine! Nasty injuries, but they say he will get better!” Desperate Bofur pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back. “He’s already better, I’m sure we somehow can talk Gandalf into letting you go to him.”

Still she sobbed and tears ran down her face, dropping onto the blanket. “What about the others?” she asked quietly after a few moments.

“Well, I’m quite alright, Bombur too. Have seen Oin fussing over some patients who won’t lie still. Heard of Nori and Balin too. And then there’s-“

The door opened and a blond prince walked in.

“Fili!” Bella called and wanted to cry again from relief.

He smiled wearily. “Good to see you.”

“How are you? Where’s your brother?” She hugged him.

The pained look on his face was enough for Bella to understand what had happened. Quickly she pulled him back into her arms again, not able to fight her own tears. After a few moments she felt his arms carefully wrapping around her back, loose at first, but quickly they tightened and she could hear Fili sobbing. Somehow she had the feeling he didn’t had a shoulder to cry on earlier even though he had been in desperate need of one. She didn’t let go until he did.

Slowly Fili lowered his gaze and wiped away his tears. “Sorry.” His voice was hoarse and tired, yet he did his best to hide it.

All she could do was trying to smile. “I’m so sorry…”

“He wasn’t the only one.” Fili whispered.

Bella didn’t want to ask, she didn’t want to know, yet she know there was no hiding from the truth. “Who else?” She asked.

As Fili didn’t move Bofur spoke silently. “Gloin, Dori, Ori and Bifur.”

It felt as if someone had grabbed her heart and ripped it right out of her chest, leaving a horrible aching hollow inside. For some moments she was sure her eyes would remain dry, but then the tears silently ran down her cheeks without stopping.  
  
Not gruff Gloin who had never missed a chance to rave about his little son who had ran after him with an axe dragging behind him because he wanted to be a hero like his father. He’d kept a picture of him above his heart, along with one of his wife. Someone would have to tell them…

Not the mother hen Dori who sometimes even had managed to boss around Thorin and had been the first one to actually take care of Bella when she’d fallen off her pony at the beginning of the journey.

Not sweet shy little Ori always with his book and portraits of the company. She knew he’d been older than Fili and Kili, yet often enough he had seemed to be so much younger, innocent and almost fragile.

Not gentle Bifur who had been, despite the axe in his skull, probably the cleverest of all the dwarves. He’d always been so eager to teach her their language, so often he would ride or walk beside her and teach her words up to whole sentences. She would never forget the time when the lesson had included _Stone_ , _throwing_ , _hitting_ and _angry Dwalin_.

A hand softly patted her back. “Bella.”

Hesitating she looked up, not bothering about the tears. “I could’ve prevented this.” She whispered.

Immediately Bofur grasped her hand. “No! No! No one could’ve prevented this.”

Bella stared at a wall until her heartbeat had calmed down enough and she dared to talk again. “Do you think Thorin even would want to see me?”

Fili actually chuckled at that. “What do you think?”

“Last time I saw him he tried to kill me…” An awkward silence spread. She had a point.

Bofur still held her hand, but looked to the ground in silence. Fili stared at the wall and avoided looking at her.

Bella sighed and slowly pushed the blankets aside. “Don’t tell him I was here. I will be gone soon.”

“Bella…?” Bofur didn’t move.

With shaking knees she stood up and suddenly realized she had no clothes left. Basically, she had nothing left. Before she knew she sat on the ground, sobbing helplessly and crying. There was no home to return to, no family nor friends. Nothing.

 

 

A week passed, followed by another and another.

One after one the injured left the halls, ever fewer were still in need of healers and soon the mountain was filled with dwarves, elves and men. Under normal circumstances at least the elves would’ve long since left, but normal circumstances didn’t include being snowed in.

From time to time a small group left to provide food somehow. Bella was pretty sure she’d already eaten orc meat by now. Or it had been something she didn’t even want to know the origin of.

A small sigh escaped her. It hadn’t taken more than a few hours for her to be sure that all her powers were gone. Those hours had involved staring at her hands and trying to understand how her hair had suddenly turned brown.

No misunderstandings, it looked nice, really even better than the white brown she had before, but it was not what she was used. Now every time she walked past a mirror or anything reflective she got a small heart attack.

“You sure I look alright?” she asked and pushed back the short strands of hair.

“Bella, you look wonderful.” Fili smiled. It looked honest.

She smiled back. Even though three weeks had passed the pain of losing so many was still there. It had gotten better, the whole in everybody’s hearts slowly healing, but they surely would leave big scars.

“And you’re sure he wants to see me?”

“He’s been asking for you ever since he woke up.”

Still Bella looked to the ground. “I’m really not sure about this.”

Fili stopped. “You don’t think about leaving again, are you?”

“Maybe…”

“Just go to him and talk to him. After that we can discuss this again.”

Pleading she looked up to him, but it was no use. Licking her lips she quietly opened the door leading to Thorin’s chambers.


	29. Chapter 29

Thorin counted himself lucky to not have woken until he’d been washed and bandaged. Because being awake while several elves fussed over you wasn’t nice.

Sleeping was the best way to pass time when one was basically tied to a bed, but eventually even dwarves had enough of sleeping. Thorin had reached that point two weeks earlier.

Now he was so fed up with lying around, he’d tried to sneak away several times. He would’ve succeeded if it weren’t for these elves! They probably could even hear a bird fart.

An elf checked the wound in his leg. Thorin couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Didn’t really matter, they all listened to _Elf_.

Suddenly the door opened slowly. Very slowly. Thorin lifted his eyebrows as nobody entered. Then slowly a small figure stepped into the room. Face hidden beneath wavy to curly honey brown hair. A dwarfish dress lovely around her body.

The elf stood up straight. “Are you lost, miss?”

“No, thank you.” She whispered.

Thorin thought his heart had stopped at the sound of her voice.

“Bella?”

She smiled shyly at him and pushed her hair back, but didn’t move.

“Bella…” Thorin breathed and looked at her, feeling tears in his eyes. Was she so scared of him?

After some seconds of awkward silence she dared to slowly move closer to the bed, steps small and insecure. Finally she stood by the bedside, eyes on the ground and teeth chewing nervously on her lower lip.

The elf left without a word.

“Bella.” Thorin tried again, carefully reaching for her hand. She didn’t react as he took it gently into his own. “Please, look at me.”

After a few everlasting seconds she raised her head and looked at him with fearing eyes. They were the same sparkling blue as they’d been all that time ago at their first meeting. How blind had he been not to see it, for they shimmered and shined more beautiful than every gem he’d ever seen. “Bella… please…” He whispered, squeezing her hand slightly against his chest. “Say something.”

She took a deep breath and her lips opened, yet no words escaped them. Her eyes still upward she took another breath, and another. “I’m sorry.” It was barely above a sigh. Her voice was shaking and in the next moment her legs couldn’t hold her body anymore.

Crying she broke down on the bed.

Once again Thorin felt his heart shatter, she was scared, scared of him. And it was entirely his fault. As careful as he could he pulled her closer until she was cradled in his arms. Her entire body was shaking from the sobs helplessly escaping her.

“Don’t be sorry. Don’t be. It’s not your fault.” Thorin mumbled and held her close. “I am sorry. It is _my_ fault entirely.”

Slowly her sobs became fewer until she finally dared to lift her head again and meet his eyes. She didn’t speak, maybe she was too scared, maybe she just didn’t want to. She didn’t flinch when he laid a hand on her cheek.

“I am so sorry. I never meant any of this, never. And if you’re not willing to forgive me I won’t blame you. And if you’re just here to tell me you will leave, I won’t stop you, because I understand. Go back… Go back and plant your tree, make sure to lock your door before leaving, but be assured that I will never forget you. And that you will be remembered by all in these halls in honour and-“

Suddenly she laid a finger on his lips to hush him. “Shut up you stupid dwarf.” The Hobbit smiled through tears and simply kissed him.

And with each second of the kiss Thorin felt his world slowly rising again. A spark lit in his chest, a soft whisper in his head, promising that things would get better, that everything would be alright again. “Are we alright again?” he asked quietly, not really leaving her lips.

“No.” Whipping the tears from her eyes Bella straightened her back.

“We are far from alright. We can be again, but you will have to prove me.” She stood up, trying her best not to show any more weakness. “I will wait, but I won’t wait forever.” Quickly she turned around and left.

Thorin stared at the closed door very long, thoughts and heart racing. He was barely over that his beloved was alive and well when the realization that she would leave if he wasn’t acting fast was hitting him hard.

As always elves ruined everything for him, since the healer shoved him right back into the bed just as he was about to run after Bella. Maybe ‘ruined’ was the wrong word, after all passing out in a bed was more comfortable than passing out in a hallway of stone. He didn’t even listen to the fussing elf as he slowly fell into blackness again.

 

 

Having a little sister meant for most people a smaller, cute sibling to take care of. For Thorin it was a conscious with harsh words and iron fists.

Dis had basically thrown open the doors of his chambers and chased the elf out to ‘have a little talk’ with her brother.

Thorin always had desired the ability to disappear into the ground, but never more than in this moment. He’d never seen her this furious before.

News travelled fast, Dis travelled even faster if she wanted to. Of course she knew the whole story when she arrived at the mountain.

“Brother dearest.” Her voice was colder than Bella when they’d found her.

Thorin gulped. “Dis, my dearest sister.”

“You owe me quite a lot explanation.”

“Do I?”

“Well, I think I deserve to know why there was only one instead of two sons greeting me. Or why half of your company is pushing up daisies. Or why there was a battle here. Or why everybody tells me you had a fiancée- more important how that ‘had’ came to be. In short, yes, you do!”

“I was foolish to believe our grandfathers sickness wouldn’t affect me.” Thorin whispered.

For a few seconds Dis was silent. It was never a good sigh when she was silent. “You, Thorin Oakenshield, are the greatest fool that ever walked this earth! You set out to reclaim your so called birthright and wanted to return a hero, now look at you! You really thought this was a good idea, to simply walk into a mountain inhabited by a dragon? And not only that, also pissing off the nearest elven king and a town full of humans to a point that they were ready to wage war on you? Because you were too damn proud to give up a small part of that damned huge treasure you claim your own! Somebody should kick your oh-so-royal ass off your high horse and beat some sense into that rock brain of yours!” She made a frustrated noise and threw a pillow at him. “I knew I should’ve never let you do this! This whole thing was a suicide mission! If that dragon was still alive, trust me, I wouldn’t even hesitate to throw you in front of him covered in sauce and with an apple in your mouth!”

“Dis, please…”

“Don’t you ‘Dis, please’ me! That pale orc should’ve impaled you! You’re lucky if I won’t decide to do that!”

Thorin tried to open his mouth and say something to calm his sister down, but she was faster and hit his head with a closet fist. “I’m not finished with you! As soon as they let you out of that bed you won’t be safe anymore!” With that she stormed off again, but not without shutting the door to make the stones quiver.

The elf stared after her, not the first time regretting to have offered to care for the dwarven king.

 

 

With the melting snow came the first flowers since decades. They almost seemed to jump out of the ground and within days the meadows around the mountain were covered in a colourful blanket, nobody would ever guess that there had been a battle on these very fields only a few months ago.

It didn’t take long until the elves followed their king back into their home, a lone redhead stayed behind. Nobody bothered her when she mourned over her fallen lover, nobody bothered her when she walked out of the gates in the middle of the night to just sit under the stars.

The men of Laketown had started rebuilding Dale, with all the help of the dwarves they could offer. The city had been a ruin before, but now there was barely anything left. Within weeks they had re-established the center and were working ever busily around to make the city even greater than it had been before.

Thorin watched the slowly growing city with weary eyes. He’d achieved what he’d been dreaming of ever since his youth. The mountain was his, the throne was his and all the gold inside. With a sigh he turned around and slowly wandered down the stairs. So many things he had dreamed of and yet he felt so sad.

Bella was gone. She’d told him, she would leave if he didn’t let her know that there was something worth staying. He’d hesitated too much. Now she was gone; left with all her belongings and his heart in her small backpack. There was no chance she would ever return.

Ever since the first opportunity he’d sent out groups to search for her and bring her back, yet they always came back without his beloved Hobbit. Thorin had given up by now, not even his sister could do something about it. She was gone and she wouldn’t return. He would have to get along with that, after all it was his fault.

Stepping out of the gates and into the warm sunlight was something he slowly got used to. Taking walks outside of the mountain had become a habit since he was allowed out of bed again. It was as good as Bella had always told him. It relaxed and made hungry for the next meal.

Thorin stopped next to a small plant; barely visible yet promising to be great someday. He’d discovered it only a few weeks before. A little bit of digging had revealed a small acorn lying in the dirt, carefully planted there and left with a piece of a broken heart.

Thorin turned and opened his paralysed right hand as much as he could. The blue diamonds sparkled like pure ice in the sunlight. With a sad sigh he knelt down and placed the small ring next to the still fragile oak. One day it would be great and strong, but that day was still in the far future.

For some seconds Thorin allowed himself to close his eyes and dream a little bit. Behind his closed lids he saw it, standing there tall and proud, withstanding every storm and rain and growing ever stronger. The tree should grow somewhere else, it should grow where it was supposed to, above a small hill in the middle of soft green meadows.

Slowly two figures formed out of the air behind his eyelids. Grey hair and wrinkled hands clasped together they stood before the great oak of Erebor, beside them a strong prince with his two little sisters and even younger brother, all of them grown up, so soon. And his brave little hobbit smiled at him so happily, her old face still so beautiful and her eyes still so sparkling like he remembered.

Thorin smiled sadly and slowly stood up. Those were memories of a timeline not to be. He knew he would grow old alone and die the same way. He turned his back to the sapling and walked back to the mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally just finished this chapter, so please don't be so hard on me ^^"


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are, last chapter... kinda sad if you ask me  
> I would like to give every one of you a big hug and thank you for reading this fic! All the kudos and comments really helped me continuing it! Thank you all so much and see you in the next fanfic! (hopefully)

“Thorin?”

With a sigh the dwarf laid down his feather and looked to the door frame where his nephew still stood. “No.”

“Please. It won’t take long.” Fili now moved closer to the desk. “You bury yourself in work. Some fresh air would be good for you. Not to mention half the mountain believes you are dead.”

“I am not, who else would be doing all this work?” Thorin picked up the feather again.

“That was meant ironically.” Fili ripped it out of his hand. “Come on, in less than an hour you can go back to your work.”

Thorin looked less than confident, but he rose with a sigh. “Alright.”

Together they walked through the great halls, still far from restored to their former glory, yet also livelier than they had thought for this point. A few of the mines had been reopened already, almost all the quarters restored for the caravans still arriving from the blue mountains. Truly, soon Erebor would shine in its former glory again.

A pair of younger dwarves bowed to them before they hurried down the hallway. The forges were working since a few weeks again, the first jewellery already brought down to almost fully restored Dale and traded against food and other necessary things made there.

They arrived at the training grounds only a few minutes later where Dwalin was overseeing the new guards in training. He turned around as he heard them approaching. “Thorin, good to see you out of your chambers again.” He smiled. “So Fili actually talked you into coming.”

“Otherwise he wouldn’t have left.” Thorin patted his shoulder. “Now, why exactly am I here again?”

“Mostly to make sure other dwarves see you alive again. And because you already missed four observations in the last two weeks.”

“I told you, I’m busy.”

“Sure.” Dwalin turned around again and rolled down to the training grounds in his, still very improvised, wheelchair. He had survived his wounds well, but the fall from the hill had shattered his spine right in the middle, not even the elves could have done anything to help him. “Alright lads, come together.” He called and slowly all the dwarves came to form a half circle in front of him.

Thorin stood silent as he listened to Dwalin explaining him the progress and the new guards showing everything they had learned. Though he didn’t pay much attention, after all he knew that Dwalin did a good job, he always did.

After almost two hours Thorin was finally released and almost hurried back to his chambers, but was stopped by a panting Nori.

“You must come to the gate.” He ordered as he still caught his breath.

“Nori, no. I’ve already been outside two hours now.” Thorin sighed and wanted to continue walking. They had tried so many times to get him out with fake news, he was fed up with this.

But Nori grasped his arm and basically dragged him along. “You are going nowhere except the gate.”

“Why?” Thorin asked, but didn’t really expect an answer. He also didn’t get one.

As they arrived at the gate several dwarves were already assembled there, half of the remaining company among them. They talked excitingly and made quite a noise. Thorin mumbled something to himself before he asked Nori: “What is the meaning of this?”

At the sound of his voice many of the dwarves immediately went silent and turned to him. They bowed and backed off as he went to the point around which they were assembled.

There, all alone, stood a human boy, barely taller than the dwarves around him. He bowed slightly as he saw Thorin.

“Greetings King under the mountain, I come in behalf of my father, King Bard of Dale.” Of course, this was Bards son, Thorin knew he had seen him before.

He nodded slowly as a sign of respect. “Greetings Bain, Son of Bard. How can I be of your service?”

“My father requests your presence.”

“Now?”

“Immediately.”

“I’m afraid he will have to wait, I am very busy. If it is very urgent, he is free to come here anytime. Have a good day.” With that the conversation was over for Thorin and he turned around again.

Bain stood still for a moment, not sure how to react to this and already wondering how to explain that he just got rejected by a dwarf. Then he remembered something he wasn’t supposed to say and before he knew he said it: “We found the Hobbit.”

Thorin froze immediately. Slowly he turned around. “What?”

He gulped. “I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t supposed to tell you.”

Thorin rushed towards him. “She’s in Dale?”

Hesitating the boy nodded, not daring to open his mouth again.

“Prepare me a pony! Now!” Thorin shouted at the next random dwarf and turned his gaze back to the poor boy. “You will take me to her.”

Again Bain only nodded, not sure how to deal with the dwarf’s sudden outburst. His father had warned him, but of course he hadn’t listened to him…

 

 

Not even half an hour later four ponies speed into the city, one almost overrunning the guard at the gate. Thorin jumped off and left the pony where it was and was quickly followed by Fili and Bofur who had insisted to come with him. Bain quickly handed the ponies to the next stable and followed them.

Miraculous Thorin found the way to Bards office at first try and basically punched open the door, revealing a startled King of Dale and a not very surprised Thranduil. Bard quickly straightened his clothes while the elf simply smirked amused.

Thorin didn’t bother to greet them. “I want to see her.” He insisted.

The man sighed. “You don’t seem to be familiar with the act of knocking at a door before entering.”

“I am familiar with it. Now tell me, where is she?”

“What’s the matter, oh King under the Mountain?” Thranduil still smirked. “Did you lose someone?”

“It’s none of your business!” Thorin hissed before he turned back to Bard. “Your son told me she’s here, I demand to see my fiancée.”

“I don’t think you have the right to call her that.” Bard replied coldly.

Thorin snorted and looked to the ground, his fists clutched. Quickly Bofur took over. “We just want to make sure she’s alright. It’s been months since she left and we thought she would be back home. To hear that she’s been found here is simply quite a surprise for all of us.”

Bard sighed. “Fine, but if anyone tells you to leave, you will leave.”

Bofur nodded quickly. “Of course.”

Throwing a glance at Thranduil Bard went out of the room and led the dwarves to the still unfinished houses of healing. It was rather quiet, almost no beds were occupied. Bard led them to the end of the hall where a small figure seemed to be curled up somewhere under a blanket. He carefully poked a random spot, yet nothing moved underneath. As he pulled the blanket back they understood why, there wasn’t a hobbit underneath, just pillows.

Bard sighed. “Not again…”

“What?” Thorin hissed, already suspecting he’d been lured here for nothing.

“Follow me.” The man simply said and went up the hall again and out of a door leading to a garden almost overflowing with flowers. Somewhere in a far corner a figure sat all alone, braiding flowers into a line, a crone of such already on her brown locks.

Bofur was the first one to move. “Bella!” he cried and ran towards her. She looked up, at first surprised, then a smile spread on her face and she stood up right before she was lifted into the air by an overenthusiastic dwarf.

“We found her two days ago.” Bard explained. “She was straying through the fields, confused and starving. From what she told us she had made it to Beorn where she had stayed for the worst snow. After that she had turned around but got lost in Mirkwood, probably she even got to the southern part of it, at least that would explain all the spider venom she had in her blood. Somehow she found her way out of it and turned north out of instinct. A farmer found her and brought her here.”

“Is she hurt badly?” Fili asked carefully after he had spotted the white bandage around her left arm.

“No. She’s pretty bruised, but except for the spider bite on her arm it’s nothing.”

Thorins legs started moving without command, towards Bella. Something seemed to be stuck in his throat, he could barely breathe and he already knew no sound would escape his throat, even if he wanted it.

The Hobbit stopped dead as she saw Thorin approaching. Her gaze flickered from the ground to his face and she smiled shyly. He could see the scar on her face which she had received in Mirkwood, it was now accompanied by several scratches and a cut along her cheek. She was paler and skinnier than ever, her hair cut just a few inches below her shoulders.

Just the thought of her straying through the great forest, all alone, without any food and completely and utterly confused, made him sick. She could’ve died there. She could’ve died there and no one would’ve ever known.

Thorin opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. He cursed in his mind and closed it again. So there he stood, awkwardly staring at his once-fiancée and not able to get a single word over his lips. He’d never felt so stupid his entire life before.

Bella smiled carefully. “I suppose you didn’t expect me to be back, did you?”

“I wished, but I never thought it would become real.” Thorin had no idea where the words suddenly came from.

She hesitated before she lowered her eyes and spoke quietly, for no one but them to hear. “I waited. I waited so long for you.”

“I was a fool!” Thorin rushed and grasped her shoulders carefully. “I was such a fool. Oh Bella please, if you would listen to me, I promise, I will make it alright again, no matter what it takes!”

Suddenly her shoulders shook and she started sobbing. “I tried- I tried so hard to forgive you, to forget you, to simply move on and get my old life back. I really tried. But I couldn’t. You kept coming back to my mind, haunting my dreams, and just wouldn’t leave. Some nights I was thinking I would go crazy if I didn’t come back. And one morning I left without a word.”

Thorins heart hurt as he saw her crying. He didn’t know what to do, what to say, to somehow comfort her, to let her know there was no reason to cry; he simply pulled her into his arms and laid his chin on the top of her head while caressing her back carefully. He hummed quietly a low tune and rocked her softly, even though he didn’t know why. It was something he’d done to calm down Kili or Fili when they had been little.

The latter now stood with Bofur a few steps away from them, smiling quietly. They too had missed their Hobbit awfully, but for now they could wait.

Bofur nudged Fili. “How long do you think it will take until he’s officially going to propose?”

The prince laughed. “From how I know my uncle, I think it’s going to take some time.”

“Sure?”

“Very sure.”

They quietly exchanged their bets. Fili had to give them back to Bofur not even two days later after Thorin had personally picked up Bella at Dale with the whole royal escort and loudly proclaimed her his wife at the feast later in the night. He had already proposed to her later that very day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah f*ck it! Who wants an epilogue?


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I finished it, so here you go, your epilog just for all you awesome people out there :D

A hobbit living under a _mountain_. Moreover a hobbit _married to a king_ and living under a mountain. Married to a _dwarven king_.

Bella laughed to herself and wondered how her story would be told in a few centuries. It had already been two years since she was officially Queen under the mountain, or consort of the king, or whatever titles she’d been given by now.

Erebor was now fully restored and shone once again in its old glory. Kin from Ered Luin, the Iron Hills and all dwarven settlements around Middle Earth had returned to the lonely mountain. Bella had never thought the stone hallways which she had once explored in the light of a single candle could be so lively and crowded.

“Your Majesty!” Bella turned around surprised. She would never get used to be called like that. A young dwarf with wild red hair came running to her. She smiled. “Gimli, how nice to see you. Aren’t you supposed to have training right now?”

He bowed deeply. “Master Dwalin let me leave earlier so I could help my mother.”

A sting in her heart almost made her wince. When he had heard that his father was dead he had ran away and got lost in the mines. It took them almost a week to find him. Ever since he tried to be strong and be there for his mother. Sometimes it broke Bella’s heart how much he tried.

Yet she smiled. “That is very kind of him. Send my greetings to your mother, will you?”

“Of course!” He bowed once again and then ran off.

Bella looked after him with the smile lingering on her lips. She knew Gimli couldn’t be called a child anymore, yet she always saw one in him. Well, she saw a child in basically everyone younger than her since… Her hand absently wandered to her round belly and she smiled even brighter. Only a few more weeks before her first child would be born.

“My Lady, are you alright?” Her footboy looked at her with a small frown. Since the beginning of her pregnancy she had fainted for no obvious reasons twice. She said it was because the baby was draining her strength. It was half dwarven after all and she was just a Hobbit, her body wasn’t made for a half dwarven baby.

“I’m alright, no need to worry my dear Groubrel.” She smiled at him and continued walking.

Since Thorin didn’t allow her making her walks outside anymore she simply visited the market inside every day. It was nice to feel at least a little like common folk and she always met Bofur here. Most dwarves bowed to her and greeted her friendly, it was like Thorin had predicted, almost everyone in the kingdom adored her. Almost everyone. Not all dwarves had been happy about the union between their king and a Halfling. Some families had just left again but there also had been death threats against Bella. Luckily none ever were put into practice yet she still was ordered to always at least keep her footboy at her side.

Groubrel was a grumpy but soft hearted elder dwarf who had returned from the blue mountains with one of the latest caravans, he hadn’t believed that the company had reclaimed the mountain. His family had always been in the service of the royal family and he hadn’t mind to continue this tradition. _Gonna kick the bucket soon anyway, might as well be from protecting our queen._

Upon arriving at Bofurs small shop Bella saw a familiar person already talking to him. They both turned to her as she greeted them with a smile.

“Bella!” Bofur jumped out of his chair and hugged her. “Where were you yesterday? I was worried that the babe was already coming and no one bothered to tell me!”

She laughed. “Sorry Bofur, I overslept and didn’t really feel like going out yesterday.”

“Sure thing lass, don’t strain yourself.” Smiling he sat down again and let Bella hug her sister-in-law.

The first time Dís had seen her brothers fiancée she had hardly been stopped from beating him up again. Must be something that runs in the blood of the line of Durins, their admire for hobbits. Not enough that Fili and Kili had always almost crushed her with their hugs every time after they had gotten separated, their mother was just like them, except with even stronger arms. Not to mention Dís looked exactly like Thorin in female, maybe her was a little lighter and she wore a different beard braid. It had taken Bella three months to finally be able to tell them apart. If Dís would just wear dresses more often it maybe wouldn’t be so hard…

Luckily her hugs quickly turned from ‘bone crushing’ to ‘hobbit hugs’, how she called them, the moment Bella’s pregnancy had been made known. From that moment on everyone suddenly treated her with the greatest care dwarves could manage. After she had proven them that she was indeed very capable of taking care of herself, even with a child in her belly, it got better a little. At least Thorin didn’t try to convince her that she had to stay in bed all day for ‘their childs sake’.

Dís smiled warmly as she hugged her. “It’s good to see you still on your feet, enjoy it while you can.”

“I’m doing my best, even though I already get pretty exhausted from a little walking by now.”

“One second!” Bofur jumped from his chair and ran down the aisle, returning panting only a few seconds later with another chair which he put down next to his. “There you go.”

Bella smiled and sat down gratefully. “Thanks Bofur.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

“So tell me, any news?”

“Not since you’ve been here two days ago.” Dís laughed quietly.

They sat together for a while and chatted jolly until Groubrel reminded Bella that she was expected to visit the jewel workshop today. With a little help she got on her feet again and was quickly off again. She couldn’t wait to return to her quarters and finally get her afternoon tea. Maybe Bombur would join her again. The jewel workshop was the most pleasant place on her list of places to visit once in a while. The air was warm and it was quiet in contrary to other places like the forges or mines. Not to mention she always admired the way the light broke through the countless precious stones and were cast on the walls, ceiling and even floor in a wonderful moving pattern of colours.

She herself barely wore jewellery even though she was always gifted new ones. It was just something of the dwarven lifestyle she would never get used to. A normal necklace already made her neck hurt after a few hours, earrings always caused her ears to itch uncomfortably and rings and bracelets were just too heavy for her. She never put on more than a very simple necklace and a circlet on her hair, except for formal events.

 

 

It was already dinner time when Bella finally returned to her quarters. The walk had been more exhausting than she remembered and she had to stop several times to catch her breath. Not to mention that her babe seemed especially restless today. _Already wants out, dwarven babes aren’t any more patient than the adult ones._ Oin had said when she’d complained about it for the first time. Two months ago.

“You are sure I can leave you alone, your majesty?” Groubrel still stood where he was and didn’t seem to be willing to move.

“I am entirely fine, Groubrel, you can leave now.”

“I am not comfortable with leaving you alone…”

“Now, I have been on my own often enough while walking halfway across Middle Earth to face a dragon, I will be fine. Thorin will come soon anyway so I won’t be alone for more than a few minutes. Don’t make me command you to go to your family.”

“As you wish your majesty.” Groubrel bowed deeply. “I wish you a good night and may Mahal watch over you.”

“Thank you, have a good night too.” Bella watched for a few seconds to make sure her footboy really was leaving until she closed the door to her quarters and sighed deeply. Her feet didn’t even hurt anymore, they went numb about an hour ago.

She shrugged off the heavy robes and sat down in an armchair in front of the fire with a blanket. Not even five minutes later the door opened and Dworu came in with her dinner.

Dworu was one of the oldest children of Bombur and almost an adult. He bowed as much as he could and put down the tablet on the small table next to Bellas armchair.

“Thank you, Dworu.” She smiled and patted his arm. He just smiled in return; he barely talked more than necessary. The task of taking dinner to her had somehow fallen to him and she really didn’t mind, if someone would have told her that she needed to allow him to leave. One time the poor boy had stood a few steps behind the table in awkward silence for more than an hour. Not to mention the shock Bella got when she stood up and there was a dwarf in her room she didn’t knew about.

“You may leave. Send my greetings to your father, will you?”

“I will.” He bowed again and left.

Another ten minutes later the door opened again and Bella didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. The heavy footsteps and mumbling spoke for themselves. The broad figure leaning over her and kissing her softly were final prof that her husband had managed to survive another day.

“Good evening, my love.” Thorin kissed her again before falling into his armchair.

“Good evening, my king.” Bella smiled and took a sip from her tea. “I hope you didn’t kill anyone today?”

“Why should I? There weren’t any elves.” Rolling her eyes Bella snatched the last slice of bread before Thorin could take it.

“You are impossible.”

“I know.” Thorin grinned and threw his heavy boots off. “How are you? Was your day alright?”

“I think I will have to chancel everything from tomorrow on, otherwise I will break my ankles or something.”

“I told you that you should stay in bed.” His voice was mocking, but there was also worry in his face.

“Just make sure you won’t stay away too long tomorrow, will you? It gets so lonely here…”

“I’ve got a better idea.” Thorin stood up and knelt down beside her. “How about I just stay with you until the babe is born? I’m sure Fili will do just fine for a few weeks.”

Bella hesitated. “You would do that?”

“Nobody will scold me for taking a few weeks of to be with my wife.” He smiled and leaned in to kiss her belly.

She giggled and set her foot against his shoulder to push him back. “If you think you can put up with me that long.”

“I can never put up with you long enough.” He hummed and put her foot down to lean in more and kiss her neck.

With a soft sigh Bella closed her eyes and relaxed under Thorins tender hands. She had never been gladder to have run out of her little green door three years ago, chasing after a group of strangers for a suicidal quest.

 


End file.
